Google Former CEO: From DeepSeek to Temu and TikTok, China Tech Surges Despite Constraints

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently sounded the alarm in The New York Times: China is not just catching up in artificial intelligence and technology innovation, it is, in some areas, pulling ahead. Despite US efforts to curb China’s progress through export controls on advanced AI chips, Schmidt argues these moves have only fuelled China’s determination to cultivate talent, build resilient supply chains, and accelerate homegrown innovation.

Schmidt points to a new era: “From DeepSeek to Temu to TikTok, Chinese tech is starting to pull ahead.” The era when China trailed far behind the US is over. American restrictions have, paradoxically, pushed China to double down, producing world-class products and, at times, even leapfrogging the West.

Google Former CEO Eric Schmidt argues in a commentary that China is rapidly catching up to the United States in artificial intelligence and technological innovation. (Image source: X)

A Changed Landscape: From Copycat to Contender

Schmidt’s commentary highlights how technological advances are transforming daily life in China. Electric vehicles speed through city streets; apps offer drone food delivery; and humanoid robots from Unitree Technology have become household names after performing on the Spring Festival Gala, China’s most-watched TV program. These shifts underscore China’s emergence as a peer-and sometimes a leader in fields like AI, robotics, and electric vehicles.

Humanoid robots from Unitree Technology became an overnight sensation after performing a dance and handkerchief-spinning routine on the stage of the Spring Festival Gala.

Schmidt notes, “To win the race for the future of technology, and, by extension, global leadership, the US must discard the belief that it is always ahead.” For years, China lagged behind. In 2007, when Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone, only about 10% of China’s population was online, and Alibaba was still years away from its New York IPO. But the pace of change has been staggering. In just over a decade, China has transformed from imitator to innovator, with products that sometimes outpace their Western counterparts.

AI: From Playing Catch-Up to Setting the Pace

When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, a wave of Chinese copycats followed, widely seen as years behind their American rivals. Yet, as with smartphones and EVs, Silicon Valley underestimated China’s capacity to rapidly develop affordable, state-of-the-art alternatives. Today, Chinese AI models are closing the gap. DeepSeek’s V3 large language model, updated in March, now ranks among the world’s best non-reasoning models on some benchmarks.

Schmidt observes, “In a dozen years, China has gone from a copycat nation to a juggernaut with world-class products that have at times leapfrogged those in the West.”

Manufacturing, Robots, and Open AI

Schmidt cites Xiaomi as a case in point: once dismissed as an iPhone copycat, the company delivered 135,000 electric vehicles last year. Meanwhile, Apple abandoned its own EV project after pouring in $10 billion over a decade. China is also racing to deploy robots at scale. In 2023, it installed more industrial robots than all other countries combined and has ambitious plans for mass-producing humanoids.

A key difference is openness. Leading US tech firms develop proprietary AI models and charge for access, partly because training these models costs hundreds of millions of dollars. Chinese AI companies, by contrast, often distribute their models freely for public use, download, and modification. This approach broadens their global influence and makes their technology more accessible to researchers and developers everywhere.

Schmidt’s New York Times op-ed headlined: “DeepSeek. Temu. TikTok. China Tech Is Starting to Pull Ahead.”

The Roots of China’s Tech Momentum

China’s rise is underpinned by decades of investment in STEM education, robust supply chains, and a brutally competitive domestic market that rewards relentless iteration. Apps from Chinese e-commerce giants like Shein and Temu, along with social platforms like RedNote and TikTok, are among the world’s most downloaded. Combined with the popularity of open-source Chinese AI models, it’s easy to envision a future where Chinese apps and AI companions are woven into the fabric of daily life worldwide.

Schmidt warns, “This China-dominated future is already arriving, unless we get our act together.” He urges the US to learn from China’s strengths: sharing more AI technology and research, accelerating innovation, and promoting AI adoption across the economy. He also cautions against underestimating China’s willingness to endure short-term economic pain for long-term technological supremacy.

Sanctions: Fuel for Innovation?

Despite US restrictions on advanced chip exports, China’s recent breakthroughs suggest that sanctions have only spurred local entrepreneurs to train and commercialize AI with renewed vigor. Schmidt concedes, “It’s a hard truth to swallow, but Chinese tech has become better despite constraints, as Chinese entrepreneurs have found creative ways to do more with less.”

The End of US Tech Dominance?

Schmidt closes with a stark warning: “We’re no longer in the era when China is far behind us.” If China’s ability to innovate holds, if its AI companies remain open, and if the country stays on track to claim 45% of global manufacturing by 2030, the next phase of the AI race will be a no-holds-barred contest across every front. America will need every advantage it can muster.

Deep Throat

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LONDON - As the United Kingdom and the United States navigate fraught tariff negotiations, a senior White House official has injected a new note of discord into transatlantic relations.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph, Peter Navarro, President Trump’s trade adviser and an architect of the administration’s combative tariff strategy, accused Britain of acting as a “compliant servant” to Beijing in its efforts to attract Chinese investment. He went so far as to liken China to a “vampire,” warning that deepening economic ties with Beijing could leave Britain exposed and vulnerable.

“If the Chinese vampire can’t suck the American blood, it’s going to suck the UK blood and the EU blood,” Navarro said, casting China’s global economic ambitions as a threat to Western prosperity. “This is a very dangerous time for the world economies with respect to exposure to China”

Navarro’s remarks arrive at a delicate moment for British officials, who are seeking to balance closer economic ties with both the European Union and China, even as they court a new trade agreement with Washington. Since Labour’s victory in last July’s general election, the government has promoted what it calls a “balanced” and “pragmatic” approach to China, insisting that isolating Beijing is neither realistic nor in Britain’s interest. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and Foreign Secretary David Lammy have both traveled to China in recent months, emphasizing the need for stable, mutually beneficial relations. Reeves has described London as the “natural home” for Chinese capital.

The British government, for its part, responded with a measured statement. “This administration will always approach UK–China relations with clear-eyed vigilance and a coherent strategy,” a spokesperson said, adding that Britain’s trade policy remains focused on long-term prosperity without compromising economic or national security.

Navarro’s comments have not gone unnoticed in the British press. A recent commentary in iNews, headlined “The UK is no ‘servant of China,’ but the US is not the only game in town,” argued that the White House adviser’s broadside signals growing American hostility toward Britain and its European allies. The article noted that Navarro’s rhetoric reflects deep-seated anxieties in Washington about China’s substantial and growing investments in the UK. According to a report by Grant Thornton, by 2023, nearly a thousand British companies were effectively Chinese-owned, supporting more than 59,000 jobs and generating over £116 billion in revenue - a “significant contribution” to the UK economy.

The iNews commentary went further, suggesting that Navarro’s hardline stance, while consistent with the Trump administration’s approach, also reveals American vulnerabilities in the ongoing trade war. The aggressive tariff policies championed by Trump and Navarro have destabilized global trade relations, the article argued, and Navarro may be hoping to pressure Britain into adopting a tougher line on China to secure a favorable US–UK deal - even if such tactics risk backlash at home.

Britain has not escaped the fallout from Washington’s tariff escalation. While facing a baseline US tariff of 10 percent, the UK remains subject to the 25 percent duties imposed by Trump on automobiles and steel and aluminum products. Despite his criticism of London’s China policy, Navarro acknowledged that UK–US trade talks are progressing, with US Vice President Vance recently expressing optimism about a swift agreement.

Meanwhile, the UK and EU are preparing for a summit on May 19, with both sides signaling plans to deepen cooperation on trade and security, including harmonizing food standards and carbon trading. Trump has previously accused the EU of deliberately obstructing US imports.

British officials have repeatedly emphasized that the UK need not choose between the EU and the US, as both are vital partners. Food safety standards remain a sticking point in UK–US trade talks; like the EU, the UK currently bans hormone-treated beef and chlorine-washed chicken. Navarro has warned that if Britain refuses to relax these standards, it will have to bear the costs.

Navarro, a fixture in Trump’s economic team, is known for his hardline views and his belief in tariffs as a primary policy tool. He has advocated for economic decoupling from China and that the world should isolate China. He has held senior roles throughout Trump’s presidency, describing his guiding principle as “wholeheartedly helping President Trump realize his vision,” while always being willing to “take the blame” but never seeking credit.

The Labour government of UK, in contrast, maintains a pragmatic, balanced approach toward China.

Chinese officials have pushed back forcefully. At a public event on May 3, Xie Feng, China’s ambassador to the United States, insisted that economic and trade relations are not a zero-sum game and warned that escalating tariffs would disrupt business, daily life, and global financial stability. “We do not want a tariff war, but we are not afraid of one,” Xie said. “We are determined to defend not only our legitimate rights, but also the international economic and trade order.”