The rapidly growing AI industry was rocked last month with the launch of DeepSeek, an open-source, Chinese-developed competitor to OpenAI’s products. The introduction of a valid competitor to American dominance in AI will lead to many questions in 2025 on how the U.S. will respond.

The Paris AI Action Summit was held on February 10 and 11. AI experts, policymakers and industry leaders from various countries gathered to engage in in-depth discussions about opportunities and challenges in AI development and governance. Chinese scholars led by former Chinese vice-foreign minister Fu Ying attended the Paris AI Summit. Below are the main points in Fu Ying’s Remarks on AI Safety and Governance at the Paris AI Summit.

The rapid rise of DeepSeek sends a clear message to the world: Tech suppression may bring short-term gains, but the resulting frictions will be counterproductive. DeepSeek’s innovations offer a fresh perspective on the future of U.S.-China economic relations by demonstrating that China can stand on its own.

Donald Trump is likely to seek a fresh start when he returns to the White House, creating an opportunity to build a healthy and sustainable China-U.S. relationship. The world is big enough for the two major powers to grow and prosper together and avoid veering into a vicious tech rivalry — or even a new cold war.

The incoming administration in the United States is expected to intensify export controls on China and strengthen measures to block overseas markets for Chinese technology products. However, Donald Trump’s new team, steered by his pragmatic approach, may ease the pressure in some sectors.

To a large degree, the new agglomeration is the result of Washington’s “great power competition” strategy. While it looks a bit like the military-industrial complex of the Cold War era, it is truly a different entity, but it’s one whose long-term impact on China-U.S. ties must be understood.

The two sides need to actively explore new models of cooperation with an open attitude to realize development together. How they balance competition and cooperation will not only affect their own relations but also the direction of the world.

The proposed legislation to ban TikTok in the United States reflects unfounded fears of Chinese influence and undermines principles of free speech and digital competition. While concerns over data privacy and manipulation exist, banning TikTok is an overreach that could harm American businesses and international reputation without addressing more pressing issues.

What’s the future of TikTok in the U.S.? American politics tend to obscure the nuanced technological issues at hand, and policymakers should shift towards regulating social media platforms as public utilities rather than focusing solely on ownership disputes.

The Munich Security Conference generated a lot of heat but little progress on problems posed by artificial intelligence and how it should be regulated. Countries everywhere need to delicately balance tech development with regulation and navigate the fine line between inevitable competition and indispensable cooperation.