Artificial intelligence in China: DeepSeek, Baidu and the global AI race

China has established itself as an essential player in global artificial intelligence. With its "New Generation AI Development Plan" launched in 2017, the country set itself the goal of becoming the world leader in AI by 2030. By 2025, the results are already impressive.

DeepSeek caused a sensation in early 2025 by publishing language models rivaling GPT-4 at a fraction of the training cost. Their approach, based on architectural optimization rather than brute computational force, challenged the assumption that only giants with billions of dollars could create cutting-edge AI. Other players like Moonshot AI, Zhipu AI and Baichuan enrich this ecosystem.

Baidu, often called the "Chinese Google," has pivoted massively toward AI with its ERNIE Bot model and PaddlePaddle platform. The company deploys AI in autonomous driving (Apollo), cloud computing and search. SenseTime, despite American sanctions, remains a global leader in computer vision, while iFlytek dominates Mandarin speech recognition.

China possesses unique structural advantages for AI: a massive population generating data at scale, a more permissive regulatory framework for data collection, and massive government support. However, American restrictions on advanced chips (Nvidia GPUs) have pushed Chinese companies to develop their own hardware solutions.

The impact on global innovation is profound. Sino-American competition in AI accelerates progress on both sides. For European and African startups, understanding the Chinese AI landscape is essential to identify emerging technologies and potential partnerships. China is no longer just a technological follower — it is often a pioneer.