Innovation reshapes China's digital landscape

Founded by a team of young researchers, DeepSeek burst onto the scene with the release of Deep-Seek-R1, a model boasting capabilities rivaling OpenAI's GPT-4o from the US.

The model quickly amassed over 100,000 GitHub stars, drawing interest from global developers eager to explore its potential. Notably, instead of following the walled-garden approach of its Western counterparts, DeepSeek has embraced an open-source strategy, making its powerful language models available to developers worldwide.

Xing Jie, chairman of a Beijing-based investment fund and an initiator of a leading metaverse forum, said: "What DeepSeek has done is remarkable — it has reshaped the trajectory of AI diffusion. For the first time, China has a voice at the foundational model level, and it didn't come from a government-funded lab or a major tech conglomerate. It came from a market-driven startup."

DeepSeek's rise has also challenged the conventional trap that AI breakthroughs are dictated by computing power. Despite facing severe constraints in accessing high-performance GPUs due to US export restrictions, DeepSeek-R1 has focused on optimizing software efficiency, relying on advanced programming techniques to bypass that trap.

"Scarcity, in some ways, breeds creativity," said Xing. "It forced Chinese companies to innovate in areas that were previously overlooked by Western counterparts."

While DeepSeek dominates AI circles, another technological marvel has taken center stage.

A group of 16 humanoid robots performed yangge, a traditional Chinese folk dance, at this year's Spring Festival Gala, which more than a billion viewers watched in awe.

Developed by Hangzhou, Zhejiang province-based Unitree Robotics, these robots weren't just a flashy spectacle. Their synchronized movements demonstrated China's growing leadership in embodied AI — the fusion of AI and robotics.

Wang Qixin, chief marketing officer of Unitree Robotics, said in a social media post, "This is the world's first public performance of fully AI-driven, fully automated humanoid robots in a cluster."

Unlike preprogrammed routines, the robots adapted their movements in real time, responding to subtle variations in music and choreography, the company said.

Pan Helin, a member of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology's Expert Committee for Information and Communication Economy, said: "This was more than just an advanced robotics showcase. It demonstrated that China is capable of blending cutting-edge technology with its cultural identity in unprecedented ways.

"The synchronized performance also exemplified China's growing soft power — pushing the boundaries between technology, culture and industry through innovation."

Unitree said in an interview with China Daily that its humanoid robots featured AI-driven full-body motion control with a maximum joint torque of 360 degrees. Advanced AI algorithms enable them to interpret music and adjust their movements in real time.

The company's industrial B2 robotic dog, which holds a 60 percent share of the global market, is capable of traversing slippery riverbeds, while its humanoid G1 robot can play soccer and even cook — demonstrating potential applications in logistics, emergency response and beyond.

"Beyond its cultural showcase, the performance underscored a larger reality: China is not merely reacting to US technological restrictions — it is reshaping global innovation on its own terms by integrating high-tech into everyday life," Pan said.

Notably, both DeepSeek and Unitree Robotics were born in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province, a city that has transformed into a high-tech hub over the past decade, thanks to the influence of Alibaba and a network of AI-focused incubators.

Liang Chunxiao, deputy director of the academic committee of market consultancy Pangoal, said that local governments have adopted policies that favor small and micro-sized enterprises, making them attractive to young entrepreneurs willing to take risks.