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Xi Hails AI and Chip Gains in New Year Address as China Presses Tech Self‑Reliance

The speech casts export curbs as fuel for homegrown advances that drew fresh investor interest.

Overview

  • Xi said “many large AI models” are competing domestically and claimed breakthroughs in research and development of China’s own chips.
  • He also highlighted broader achievements, citing the Tianwen‑2 asteroid mission, an electromagnetic‑catapult aircraft carrier, a massive dam project in Tibetan territory, and progress in humanoid robots and drones.
  • DeepSeek’s 2025 model releases were credited with narrowing the performance gap with U.S. peers and preceded a sell‑off that wiped out nearly $1 trillion in tech value, including a one‑day drop of more than 17% for Nvidia on January 27.
  • Reporting portrays U.S. chip limits as accelerating China’s semiconductor push, even as the U.S. in December allowed Nvidia’s H200 sales to approved Chinese customers, with Fortune noting a 25% fee on those exports.
  • Global investors have been rotating toward Chinese tech, with UBS rating the sector “most attractive” and some asset managers increasing positions in companies such as Alibaba.