China’s Technology Advances Despite U.S. Resistance

Are we about to read the latest chapter in the now thick book that examines how China advances and the U.S. freaks out? It certainly appears that way.

Let’s remember that China’s recently concluded Two Sessions political gathering occurred at the same time the U.S. government continued to ping-pong from one statement to another about tariffs, disunity with Europe and the potential extinction of government programs. By contrast, the serious and sober way Two Sessions was carried out provided an important reminder of how government works for the whole of society.

Critical decisions were made at Two Sessions involving the need to complete the final items associated with the current 14th Five-Year Plan and preparing for the 15th Five-Year Plan, which will be released during the Two Sessions in 2026. In the coming months, China’s efforts in one area, technology, is certain to be examined carefully in the United States, which has sought for several years to restrain China’s progress in the many industries related to it. And whenever Washington cannot control Beijing’s technological breakthroughs, irrational decisions follow.

In this year’s government work report, China acknowledges the need to “promote integrated advancements in technological and industrial innovation.” A couple of pages later, the report highlights a critical commitment to increasing “funding for the industries of the future and foster industries such as bio-manufacturing, quantum technology, embodied AI, and 6G technology.” Finally, China’s “AI Plus” plan explores how artificial intelligence can be integrated into multiple manufacturing areas. Should all of these efforts come to fruition, they would affirm China’s place at the front of the world’s technology development roster.

Looking specifically at 6G, what makes it so critical? According to one expert, 6G technology “will enable economic and technological competitiveness in the 21st century, and the first country to operationalize it will gain an upper hand in establishing a favorable market position and setting standards for the design and use of 6G devices.” As a result, although the full rollout of 6G is not expected until perhaps as late as 2030, China and America are already in a race to the finish line.

Keep in mind that one Chinese company made news in 2023 by announcing it would be prepared to unveil early applications of 6G this year. And another report stated that China has made a remarkable breakthrough in satellite-to-ground laser transmission, meaning it has surpassed the achievements made by other global companies, including those in the U.S.

The facts associated with China and 6G are important. But what these developments and possibilities mean tell another part of the story. China continues to focus on high-quality development. The release of the generative AI app DeepSeek from earlier this year offers a solid example. As the U.S. panicked over how a largely unknown Chinese company could create a product that matched, or potentially exceeded, previous generative AI products created in the U.S., one highly respected American university offered an explanation: DeepSeek needed to be praised for its “capacity for clever engineering and algorithmic innovation.”

Let’s applaud China’s scientific and technological communities for “clever engineering.” But let’s not forget that the government’s commitment to and actions on supporting these industries allows for such advancements to happen.

Returning to the unveiling of DeepSeek, how has America responded to it? Exactly as you would expect when fear is the motivation. In fact, Washington has copied from the playbook it wrote when it attempted to convince the American public that TikTok was a direct danger to U.S. national security. Last month, one politician wanted to ban DeepSeek from government smartphones. More recently, OpenAI, which has enjoyed a leading position in generative AI within the U.S. since it launched a couple of years ago, has joined the effort. In making its announcement, Open AI argued “China could be compelled by the CCP to manipulate its models to cause harm.” It added: “DeepSeek faces requirements under Chinese law to comply with demands for user data and uses it to train more capable systems for the CCP’s use.” Yes, almost the exact same baseless claims were made about TikTok. Sadly, U.S. courts agreed that TikTok was a threat. One can only hope that such a mistake will not be repeated.

The point here is not to regurgitate history. Nor is it to criticize the U.S. Instead, it is to remind readers that China continues to make strides to better the lives of the world’s 8 billion people. One key reason is its continual affirmation of whole-process democracy, which puts the Chinese people at the center of the most important national decisions. President Xi Jinping has said that China’s whole-process people’s democracy works because “people can express their interests and needs without hindrance and whether all sectors of society can effectively participate in the country’s political life.”

There are still well over nine months left in 2025. Who knows how many technological breakthroughs China will release during the rest of the year. But what is certain is that the combination of government encouragement and scientists’ creativity guarantees more is to come.