Inside China, DeepSeek Provides a National Mic Drop Moment

Inside China, it was called the tipping point for the global technological rivalry with the United States and the “darkest hour” in Silicon Valley, evoking Winston Churchill. It was possibly a breakthrough that could change the country’s destiny.

The news that the Chinese start-up DeepSeek can build artificial intelligence models that are as good as OpenAI’s, and at a fraction of the cost, tanked the stock market on Monday and sent Silicon Valley into a panic.

The claim about DeepSeek’s success was viewed in China as a shot in the arm for a discouraged tech industry and a public that’s suffering through a stagnating economy. On social media posts and state news outlets, DeepSeek was nothing less than a testament to the country’s ability to innovate, especially when facing efforts by the United States to limit China’s access to the most advanced technologies.

“A nation like China, which is equipped with substantial technological resources, cannot truly be suppressed,” wrote Hu Xijin, a retired editor in chief of the Communist Party tabloid Global Times. “U.S. sanctions in one area will only spur more comprehensive and resilient progress in China, potentially leading to breakthroughs that outpace the U.S.”

The American semiconductor policies toward China “may ultimately backfire on the U.S,” he wrote.

On Monday evening, four out of the 10 most popular topics on the social media platform Weibo were related to DeepSeek.

“DeepSeek, keep up the momentum!” a Weibo user in Beijing wrote.

“The nation must protect the founder of DeepSeek at all costs! Seriously!” wrote another user in Shanghai who usually posts about entertainment news.