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The Chinese app DeepSeek drew criticism in 2023 for censoring sensitive topics, including the Tiananmen Square incident. China is specific about a period: 2025, the year its American debut in A.I. the rise, for its “Sputnik Moment,” a moment when it became clear a new era of global technology leadership had begun. DeepSeek’s low-cost technology up-ended American AI superiority, with repercussions for the global marketplace and the geopolitical balance.
DeepSeek’s success signals China’s AI leap, posing a direct challenge to U.S. technological supremacy and digital governance models.
DeepSeek’s stated mission is to “answer your questions and improve your life in the most efficient way.” The app, which launched in China in 2023 and entered the U.S. market in January 2025, has become widely popular for its impressive capabilities with a variety of queries. Inspired by OpenAI’s ChatGPT, DeepSeek’s launch in the West represented the first major entry into this market for an AI from China.
In its health and wellness configuration, DeepSeek gives users access to information from medical literature or the scientific record, without the taint of misinformation. For example, when asked about the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, the app refused to respond saying it was an assistant that is meant to help, not hurt. Such censorship reflects China’s “right to speak” and has raised eyebrows in the West about the app’s potential as an information gatekeeper. Such controversies highlight larger questions about the role of AI in framing digital discourse.
DeepSeek’s prominence underscores a new front in the China-U.S. geopolitical competition. Unlike the past contests that turned on space or arms, this showdown is about AI — a transformative technology that could fundamentally change economies, militaries, and society. The app’s success is a symbol of China’s ability not just to compete with the West but to possibly surpass its technological innovation. This competition isn’t just about the economics, but also about shaping global norms and governance in the developing world for AI.
Whereas the U.S. has promoted a more open and democratic model, China’s approach combines fast innovation with authoritarian state mandates, revealing a deeper ideological chasm. The term “Sputnik Moment” goes back to 1957, when the Soviet launch of the Sputnik satellite propelled the U.S. into a technological race. The debut of DeepSeek in the U.S. is similarly a testament to China’s rapid advances in AI. Its success comes from massive government investment, extensive domestic data harvesting, and efforts to attain self-sufficiency in key technologies such as semiconductors. As a result, has become a pioneer in the practical and affordable application of AI, one that has a special focus on developing countries.
On January 21, 2025, President Trump announced the U.S. $500 billion project named, “Stargate AI initiative”. China countered with its AI Industry Development Action Plan, a one trillion yuan (roughly $138 billion) commitment to AI infrastructure. This effort is a key part of the push to fortify DeepSeek and other companies such as Baidu, ByteDance, and Alibaba, which last week unveiled R1, a U.S.-competitive AI model at a fraction of the cost.
The AI race isn’t just about innovation—it’s about shaping global norms, ethics, and control over information in the digital era.
DeepSeek poses a technological and ideological challenge to the U.S. If America falls behind in A.I. development, it risks losing its edge in economic growth and national security. With a focus on surveillance, China’s approach to AI governance is at odds with Western ideals about transparency and personal freedom. To compete, the U.S. must spend more on AI R&D, ethically address the threats of AI, and engage with countries and multilateral institutions interested in developing AI aligned with democratic values and human rights. This intense competition reflects the global competition for AI.
The potential of AI tools like DeepSeek, which are cheap to produce in countries like China, gives it a strong advantage in emerging markets. Typically operating with small budgets, these nations are expected to purchase cost-effective Chinese technologies. This, in turn, will help cement China as an AI power and projection of geopolitical force beyond the West, a process that is already well underway through the Belt Road Initiative, which aims to bring developing countries into China’s sphere of economic benefit.
The U.S.-China race over AI is part of a larger struggle for supremacy in cutting-edge technologies that include semiconductors, quantum computing, and 5G networks. Such advancements underpin both modern economies and national security. China’s advances in AI, along with other technological advancements, are part of a concerted effort to undermine Western hegemony and reshape global power dynamics. The U.S. needs a comprehensive strategy to counter China’s burgeoning influence. These consist principally of more federal spending on AI research, more private-sector innovation through the action of private-sector agents , and international cooperation to establish ethical norms for AI.
Domestically, the U.S. must guarantee that AI technologies are developed and deployed equitably, and at the same time, tackle risks related to surveillance and misuse. The U.S. must also present a captivating vision of what the future with AI can look like — one based on openness, inclusivity, and human rights protections. Such a vision could provide — if realized — a democratic alternative to China’s state-controlled model, one that many countries could more easily embrace and support because it would be rooted in transparency and freedom.
DeepSeek’s rise is a wake-up call for the U.S. and its allies that they must take China’s A.I. advances seriously. Attorney General Merrick Garland cites evidence that crediting the trustworthiness of a system results in people making more “sensible choices” about their food, their health, and their finances, as well as insisting that this competition is not just about technological supremacy, it is a competition to shape the values and norms that will underpin the future of global governance.
The U.S. must act urgently, investing in AI research and global partnerships to counter China’s growing influence in emerging markets.
The world is heading for an age governed by AI and digital technologies like nothing seen before, and the risks are higher than ever. This moment calls for urgency and creativity from the United States and its partners. It is only through coordinated research, sound policymaking, and responsible governance that the West can ensure a future in which AI serves the interests of humanity as a whole. The emergence of DeepSeek is both a challenge and an opportunity — a testament to investing in advancing collective progress, transparency, accountability, and human rights in the digital era. The decisions made today will be felt for decades, framing the future of AI and its place in global society.
The author is an MPhil student at the National Defense University, Islamabad. His research interests encompass strategic contestation in the Asia-Pacific and regional security risks in South Asia. His focus is on geopolitical rivalries, economic nationalism, and emerging technologies within these two regions.
