The Story Will China lead the world in 2026? - The Saturday Story
Jan 3, 2026
Cindy Yu, a journalist and columnist for The Times, shares her unique insights on China's rising influence. She describes her recent trip, revealing mixed sentiments about the economy and global politics. Key topics include a record $1 trillion trade surplus and the rise of the AI company DeepSeek, which is challenging US tech dominance. Cindy also discusses the cultural impact of RedNote among Western youth, contrasting it with the domestic tightening under Xi's rule and examining China's strategic ambitions for 2026.
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DeepSeek Shocked Silicon Valley
- DeepSeek, a Chinese startup, launched a reasoning AI model in January 2025 that matched Western counterparts.
- It ran 20–50 times cheaper, shocking Silicon Valley and wiping value from NVIDIA overnight.
US Eases Chip Restrictions
- At the end of 2025, Donald Trump allowed exports of NVIDIA H200 chips to China, easing prior export controls.
- Those chips are considerably more powerful than many Chinese chips and could accelerate China's AI capabilities.
Made In China 2025's Long Reach
- China’s Made in China 2025 plan targeted AI, semiconductors, biotech and renewables and has largely driven sustained progress.
- Think tanks find China leads most tracked critical technologies in research and manufacturing scale.