Western technological superiority is collapsing in the face of the rise of China, symbolized by the DeepSeek artificial intelligence model. This is the era of geo-technological shift.

As the United States and China engage in an intense technological rivalry over artificial intelligence, DeepSeek, a pioneering Chinese company, is shaking Wall Street, raising concerns in the Western tech world from Vancouver to Warsaw, from Los Angeles to Lisbon, from Washington to Paris. The fall of American technology stocks, as well as others in the Western space on January 28, 2025, is a testament to the geopolitical upheaval underway.

A shining symbol of China’s technological rise, the artificial intelligence model developed by DeepSeek is challenging Western supremacy, ushering in a new era marked by major geopolitical disruptions. The United States and Europe, once undisputed leaders, are facing a reality where China is asserting itself as a technological leader thanks to strategic investments in research and development (R&D).

This Chinese technological advance, compared to the shock and dismay the United States experienced when the USSR surprised the world by launching the first artificial satellite in 1957 (a perfect illustration of the revelation of Soviet technological superiority that sparked the space race), has profound implications, threatening to transform the global economic and military landscape while strengthening the influence of the BRICS Alliance. Lacking a monopoly on strategic initiative and disoriented in the face of this meteoric rise, the West lacks a strategy to counter this emerging dominance, heralding a new era of technological and economic rivalries.

This article examines China’s rise as a global superpower, alongside Russia, in the context of growing tensions between the BRICS and NATO blocs, as well as East/West divisions.

Between 2010 and 2025, China experienced explosive economic growth and massive investments in research and development, consolidating its position as a technological leader. At the same time, the rivalry with the United States for economic, political and technological supremacy has intensified, manifested in a trade war that began in 2018 and a fierce race for innovation, particularly in artificial intelligence, robotics and renewable energy. This complex global environment reveals the challenges posed by China’s rise and underscores the tensions of a new Cold War, exacerbated by a Western distrust of otherness, as discussed by Mr. Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Speaker of the Russian State Duma.

The awakening of a new era of Chinese technological superiority

The unveiling of DeepSeek, a pioneering artificial intelligence model developed by Chinese researchers, marks a watershed moment in global technological competition. While the United States and Europe have been embracing a perception of invincible technological supremacy, China has been quietly capitalizing on research and development, elevating its progress to levels unmatched by its Western counterparts. This breakthrough is reminiscent of the historic Sputnik moment, when the Soviet Union blindsided the United States by launching the first artificial satellite.

DeepSeek has come to symbolize the rise of Chinese technology, poised to redefine the global balance. This success is the result of a rigorous, long-term strategy orchestrated by leaders determined to invest massively in research, development, and innovation, supported by the ambitious “Made in China 2025” program. By betting on artificial intelligence, robotics and renewable energies, China is positioning itself as an undisputed leader, facing a United States and a Europe that are lamentably behind, failing to anticipate the emergence of Chinese technology. DeepSeek reminds us that the new era of Chinese technological dominance is much more than a hypothesis: it is an imperative reality and a strategy to drive the multipolarism advocated by the BRICS Alliance of the Global South.

The collapse of Western technological superiority and the geopolitical consequences

Without a doubt, the DeepSeek revelation illustrates the collapse of Western technological superiority, which has long been the linchpin of US and European economic and military power. Now, with a significant lead in AI, China is surpassing Western capabilities, with major geopolitical implications. This emerging dominance is allowing China, backed by Russia, to extend its economic and political influence globally, undermining the Western powers’ leverage to consolidate multipolarism.

By investing strategically in research and development, China has trained a new generation of scientists and, as noted above, accelerated its “Made in China 2025” initiative, positioning itself at the top of the global value chain. For the West, this means not only a decline in its economic influence but also a challenge to its military supremacy. China, like its historic ally, Russia, is using its technological progress to develop cutting-edge technologies and strengthen its presence in key regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America. As a result, the United States and Europe will have to navigate a transformed geopolitical landscape and their role in modern world history is diminishing.

China’s rise and the West at a loss, towards a new Cold War

Unquestionably, the emergence of China as a major technological power, in tandem with Russia in the BRICS Alliance, has plunged the West into a state of stupor at its inability to contain the duo and maintain its dominance. The rise of the DeepSeek artificial intelligence model symbolizes this shift. The United States and Europe, once undisputed leaders who are in coalition within NATO, are facing a competition whose speed surpasses them.

Several factors explain this vulnerability: negligence in research and development, underestimation of Chinese ambitions, and the mistaken belief in the infallibility of their technological superiority. Today, the West is forced to acknowledge its debacle. While China is rapidly advancing alongside its historic ally Russia, Western countries, paralyzed by internal problems and divergent interests, are struggling to react.

This impotence could have devastating economic and political consequences for the West, going so far as to call into question its global primacy and threaten its military and economic stability. The growing tensions between China in the BRICS Alliance and the Western NATO groups raise the specter of a new Cold War, potentially isolating the United States and Europe on the world stage. This context highlights the West’s blindness to a reality where China, with actors like DeepSeek, is shaking up the established order, even shaking up American financial markets.

Considering the above, we can conclude that technological superiority, economic influence and military power are moving irremediably towards the East. The era of Western domination is over, that of the Global South has begun. The West must resign itself to playing a secondary role in a world dominated by the power of the South.

The collapse of Western technological superiority, centred on a homogeneous geopolitical identity, can be said to be like a grenade with the pin pulled, thrown into the legs of the adversaries of China and Russia.

Mohamed Lamine KABA, Expert in geopolitics of governance and regional integration, Institute of Governance, Human and Social Sciences, Pan-African University. Courtesy

https://journal-neo.su/2025/02/09/deepseek-the-game-changer-china-dethrones-silicon-valley/