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DeepSeek is a case in point on how economic interdependence between nations are utilised for geopolitical ambitions and global domination efforts, observes China expert Srikanth Kondapalli.
In the emerging tech war, China used a subtle guerilla warfare technique to deplete United States lead in artificial intelligence and this conflict is expected to enhance further the damage in the coming years, already subjected to a 'decoupling' process.
China's new AI model DeepSeek R1 roiled US IT giants like Nvidia and others costing the latter of trillions of dollars in stocks.
As the US began banning semiconductor chips, increase in tariffs and contemplated ban on TikTok, China has fired the salvos, choosing President Trump's inaugural day for its entry on the global stage.
DeepSeek is a small firm which was established by Liang Wenfeng only a couple of years ago and had displayed mastery in coding, reasoning, maths and knowledge.
It claimed the training costs of generative AI at an unbelievable amount of $5.6 million.
The claim of cheaper costs is hyperbole and discounts the trillions of dollars that went into building the tech innovative ecosystem, ironically helped by the US.
For instance, before Trump was elected president late last year, China scoured through the US market and imported over $550 billion in integrated chips.
Earlier, in 2023, China imported $350 billion, declining from over $750 billion in 2022 after President Biden banned semiconductors to China on suspicion of military use of such hi-tech chips.
China imported a total of $3.7 trillion worth of integrated circuits from the US in the last decade, including Nvidia's powerful H800 chips.
In 1949, Mao Zedong, who didn't have much military technology, defeated the US-backed Chiang Kaishek by looting the latter's arms and ammunition. Today, China may be attempting the same on the US.
Mao's dictum was whatever the enemy has, we should have the same. China used global transparency, rule of law and commercial greed to its advantage.
DeepSeek R1 is said to be free but information is provided based on hidden costs -- and most importantly data security.
It collects user's IP address, chat history, keyboard rhythms and other data.
All user data is stored in China's servers. Its terms and conditions mention about being 'governed by the laws of the People's Republic of China', one of which, according to the 2017 National Intelligence Law, is to divulge information.
Since the launch of 'Made in China 2025' policy in 2015, China had already allocated over $3 trillion in R&D till 2024.
Many of the so-called 'private enterprises' in China are nurtured by the party-State eco system, including subsidies, tax holidays, energy supplies, low-interest loans, real-estate facilities and others.
The low cost propaganda thus flies in the air, but it also reflects to lack of transparency, IPR violation, massive collection of user data for various purposes and others.
DeepSeek is not the only one that was encouraged by the American tech industry for commercial or strategic reasons.
In fact, Nvidia defended the DeepSeek system a year earlier by supplying chips.
China's Huawei today is a global telecom leader with 5G networks.
China today boasts of 56 percent global share in electrical vehicle production, led by BYD and others.
Nvidia, Microsoft, Apple, Tesla and others continue to power China's such ambitions.
DeepSeek is a case in point on how economic interdependence between nations are utilised for geopolitical ambitions and global domination efforts.
If iron and steel was the barometer for power till 20th century, energy for 20th, now wielding data provides for the sinews of global power.
Also, DeepSeek and TikTok episodes indicate to massive surveillance measures by China, not only domestically to continue the party-state control over masses in the light of declining growth rates and the resulting mass unrest but also global data collection for 'sentiment analysis' that could be put to good use in diplomacy, financial, technological and military domains and in its show-down with the US in the near future.
The US and other countries should expect more guerilla tactics to be displayed by China, with newer and more powerful machines in the offing such as DeepSeek's Kimi, Alibaba's Qwen, MiniMax and Tencent's Hunyuan3D.
For India, the DeepSeek phenomenon is a wake up call, both in terms of strengthening data security but also in developing a robust innovative ecosystem that is conducive to a rising, inclusive, decentralised, multi-lingual environment of India and scale-up semiconductor chip production.
India had shown leadership on June 17, 2020 two days after the Galwan border skirmishes with China by banning Chinese IT apps that collected enormous data.
India is currently under tremendous pressure to lift the ban. New Delhi needs to explore a robust indigenous hi-tech system instead.
Srikanth Kondapalli is Professor in Chinese Studies at JNU.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com