The launch of DeepSeek has created a huge earthquake, not only in the artificial intelligence (AI) market, but also strongly impacted the global technology world. In just the first 20 days of its launch, DeepSeek has attracted more than 20 million users, setting a record for growth speed.

The DeepSeek “storm” has raised many big questions: What has China done to be able to shorten the AI ​​gap with the US so quickly? And more importantly, what can Vietnam learn from this strategy?

DeepSeek is the result of China's multi-year plan

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Artificial Intelligence, before DeepSeek appeared, many people believed that China was far behind the US in the field of AI, especially after OpenAI launched ChatGPT. The AI ​​Index 2023 report once assessed that China was about 3-5 years behind the US in the Generative AI race.

However, with the advent of DeepSeek, this “picture” has changed. In just one year, China has not only caught up but also shown incredible acceleration in the field of generative AI.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai believes that this success is not a random result, but is a testament to a systematic national strategy and close coordination between the government, businesses and researchers.

deepseek shutterstock
The DeepSeek "earthquake" is one of the events that will have a major impact on the global technology world in early 2025. Photo: Shutterstock

In fact, China aims to become an AI superpower by 2035, with an estimated total domestic AI economy of $300 billion. By 2023, the proportion of AI-using enterprises in China will reach 62%, double that of the US. This shows that China is not only focusing on research but also strongly promoting the implementation of AI in practice.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai, DeepSeek is not only the result of a simple AI strategy but must be part of China's overall science and technology strategy.

Sharing his personal perspective, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ai Viet, former Director of the Institute of Information Technology (Hanoi National University) said that after many years of studying the Chinese way of doing science and technology, he was not surprised by the birth of DeepSeek. “ Everyone was surprised, but not me. When ChatGPT was born 2 years ago, I expected China to come up with something special, different from ChatGPT .”

Commenting on DeepSeek, according to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ai Viet, China chose a very good time for the birth of this AI tool. “ It is no coincidence that when US President Donald Trump was elected, China pushed DeepSeek out just hours before the Trump administration announced the Stargate project. DeepSeek was launched at a very suitable time, to hit the US stock market ,” he said.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ai Viet predicts that China may have many other "cards" that have not yet been revealed, but what is certain is that this country has a very clear roadmap for science and technology development and is implementing it persistently.

Sharing the same view, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai also said that China has been very successful in choosing the time of DeepSeek's birth. " American companies are exaggerating the story of the big language model. DeepSeek's appearance is like a timely slap in the face. This shows that they must have a strategy, not a business strategy but a Chinese strategy in competing with the US, " said the Director of the Vietnam Institute of Artificial Intelligence.

What can Vietnam learn from China about AI development?

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ai Viet: “ If we only look at the AI ​​ambition in the DeepSeek story, we have not seen the depth of Chinese thinking. It is comprehensive and unified .”

Explaining further, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Ai Viet said that science is an ecosystem whose components are interconnected. China's scientific and technological research activities are part of a tightly interconnected ecosystem that cannot be moved, and that is why it can achieve success.

In fact, the "Strategy for Science and Technology Development to 2050", published by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2009, has outlined a detailed direction, mobilizing the participation of 3,000 scientists. After a period of implementation, this program has been evaluated as successful, exceeding the set targets in many aspects.

china chip reuters.png
DeepSeek is the result of China's long-term science and technology strategy. Photo: Shutterstock

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Xuan Hoai said that the success story of DeepSeek is just the result that we can see in a larger issue. To have a product like DeepSeek, it requires a whole support system, from businesses, scientific systems, to national-scale stories, in which the state plays an indispensable role.

According to the Director of the Vietnam Institute of Artificial Intelligence, DeepSeek's approach is "poor boy", solving problems with small capital. That could be an inspiration for Vietnam to do something similar.

Adding more perspective, Professor Tran Thanh Long (University of Warwick, UK) said that DeepSsek clearly shows China's strategy.

From a technological perspective, it is a triumph of innovation as the country has been banned from importing high-end hardware for AI development in recent years. Therefore, when making DeepSeek, they were forced to use a smaller model with a smarter algorithm, which is why they were able to beat ChatGPT and Open AI.

“ Before DeepSeek was born, the world thought that we had to invest a lot of money in machines, AI centers, and data. That trend would not necessarily be successful. A direction like DeepSeek has a long-term opportunity, with the use of smaller algorithms, smaller models, but more skillfully, ” shared Professor Tran Thanh Long.

DeepSeek’s success also lies in demonstrating to the world the power of open source. This opens up the opportunity to use and create AI for everyone.

In Vietnam, since 2021, the Prime Minister has issued the National Strategy on Artificial Intelligence Development. Recently, Resolution 57 of the Politburo on scientific and technological breakthroughs, innovation and digital transformation has also been issued, like a breath of fresh air, fueling the desire to rise up through the development of science and technology.

Resolution 57 also clearly states the importance and some specific goals for AI development in Vietnam. According to experts, in the context of the world changing every day, the global AI competition (between the US, China, Europe and the rest) through the story of DeepSeek gives us many thoughts on what Vietnam needs to do, in order not to miss the opportunity and have a place on the world technology map.

Young Vietnamese people must understand and know how to apply AI. According to the recently issued Digital Competency Framework for Learners, applying AI in learning and working is one of the digital competencies that need to be focused on training in educational institutions.