At the symposium held in February, DeepSeek founder Luong Van Phong had the opportunity to shake hands with General Secretary and President of China Xi Jinping.

He was also seated in the front row with other famous figures such as Ren Zhengfei of Huawei, Pony Ma of Tencent and Jack Ma of Alibaba. Since then, his DeepSeek AI model has been increasingly applied in public agencies.

Courts use DeepSeek to draft rulings in minutes. Doctors in Fuzhou use it to plan patient treatment. In Meizhou, DeepSeek supports government hotlines.

Shenzhen officials analyze surveillance video with DeepSeek to identify missing people and have had at least 300 successful cases.

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Chinese General Secretary and President Xi Jinping shakes hands with DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng at a conference in February. Photo: CCTV

The New York Times commented that the enthusiasm of the Chinese state apparatus to welcome DeepSeek reflects what often happens when Mr. Xi supports something, such as soccer, winter sports, high-tech manufacturing...

Still, DeepSeek’s rise proves one thing: Chinese companies are fully capable of producing advanced AI systems, undermining America’s leadership in this strategic technology.

According to Huang Guang Bin, an AI expert at Southeast University in Nanjing, the Chinese government does not reject new technology, but when it determines a clear direction, it will actively promote it strongly.

In recent weeks, Chinese police have held DeepSeek training sessions for their employees, and logistics and hotel companies have encouraged workers to use the model in graphic design and customer service.

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DeepSeek and its founder Luong Van Phong are considered the country’s new users. Xi’s handshake has only added to the ripple effect. Being at the center of the world’s second-largest economy – home to more than 1 billion internet users – is every startup’s dream.

Still, questions remain about how effective DeepSeek will be compared to the past. While many officials have pledged to use the model in their work, few have provided concrete examples of its superiority, according to the New York Times .

The surge in demand has also raised concerns about whether DeepSeek has enough human and technical resources to meet the demand. The startup’s services have been repeatedly disrupted as millions of people have tried it out. According to Chinese media, Luong Van Phong’s company has only 160 employees.

There are also risks when government officials rush to adopt AI without fully understanding its risks.

Zhong Huiyong, a researcher at Shanghai Jiaotong University, told The Paper that officials should review AI-generated content before using it, as even the most advanced systems can provide false information. Those who rely too much on AI will also lose a deep grasp of the situation.

Chinese officials’ willingness to experiment with AI stands in contrast to other parts of the world. In January, OpenAI launched a version of ChatGPT specifically for government use. But regulations around the use of AI in the public sector are patchy.

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Luong Van Phong sat in the front row at the conference on February 17, along with other famous leaders of the domestic technology industry. Photo: SCMP

For DeepSeek, Beijing’s attention has not been entirely positive. For one thing, Chinese internet companies are only just emerging from a years-long government crackdown. As their influence grows, they come under increased scrutiny. Abroad, DeepSeek’s popularity has also raised concerns among regulators about censorship, security, and data handling. Australia and South Korea have asked government employees not to use DeepSeek.

Second, DeepSeek’s ties to the Chinese government have become a source of complaints from opponents. OpenAI, for example, wrote to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to warn that Beijing could use DeepSeek to “manipulate models and cause harm.”

ChatGPT's developer compares DeepSeek to Huawei and argues that the US should adopt a policy of encouraging allies not to use such potentially risky technology.

“While the US still leads in AI, DeepSeek shows that the gap is not far away and is gradually narrowing,” OpenAI wrote in the letter.

(According to NYT, CommonWealth)