Openness, cooperation serve AI development: China Daily editorial
In an era where technological advancements are reshaping our world, the release of DeepSeek-V4, a cutting-edge large language model developed by the Chinese AI company DeepSeek, highlights not only the rapid maturation of China's technological ecosystem but also underscores the importance of openness and collaboration in driving innovation.
DeepSeek-V4 is a testament to open-source innovation. It has made waves in the AI community by achieving top-tier positions on open-source leaderboards across math, STEM and competitive coding challenges, closely trailing Google's closed-source Gemini 3.1 Pro and outperforming other models. This success shows the model's capabilities and reflects China's growing influence in the global AI landscape. By leveraging open-source platforms, DeepSeek-V4 proves that collaboration and transparency can lead to remarkable advancements.
The model's achievements also highlight a broader trend: Chinese AI developers are no longer just catching up with Western pioneers but are actively helping to redefine the boundaries of innovation. This shift is driven by a commitment to open-source development, which has allowed for the rapid sharing and improvement of technologies globally.
Despite the impressive advancements that Chinese companies have made, the country's AI industry faces challenges, not the least in the form of misconceptions and accusations from some in the West.
Some critics have falsely accused Chinese companies of intellectual property theft, misrepresenting routine engineering methods such as knowledge distillation as evidence of wrongdoing. Such baseless and irresponsible accusations undermine the spirit of collaboration and overlook the significant contributions by Chinese companies to open-source innovation.
Moreover, there is a tendency to trivialize Chinese advancements in embodied robotics, dismissing them as mere entertainment. However, the reality is far more impressive. Recent developments, such as the humanoid robots participating in the 2026 Beijing E-Town Half-Marathon, demonstrate the practical applications and rapid progress of Chinese robotics. These advancements are not about spectacle but about reliability, energy management and autonomous decision-making, showcasing the versatility and depth of Chinese innovation.
Open-source models such as DeepSeek-V4 lower barriers to AI adoption, enabling global access to cutting-edge technologies. This accessibility fosters innovation, allowing researchers and developers worldwide to build upon existing knowledge and push the boundaries of what is possible.
A notable moment in this journey is the collaboration between DeepSeek and Huawei's Ascend ecosystem, optimizing models such as DeepSeek-V4 for deployment on domestically developed AI chips. This highlights China's accelerating push toward technological self-reliance in response to Western export controls.
Today, China has built considerable advantages in artificial intelligence, particularly in the field of embodied robotics system integration, which are providing affordable solutions in real-world applications, such as manufacturing, healthcare, eldercare and daily life.
Whether some are willing to accept it or not, China has now built a clear edge in artificial intelligence, particularly in embodied robotics. It has developed a complete industry chain, covering everything from core components to complete machine manufacturing, and from specific application scenarios to system integration. The country's superlarge market offers abundant real-world use cases and strong demand, fueling the R&D and deployment of new technologies and products. The country also has a massive talent pool that will continue to yield dividends.
While certain "bottleneck" issues remain unresolved in some fields, by fully leveraging its strengths, China has both the ability and the confidence to navigate this uncharted path as shown by the success of DeepSeek-V4 and the progress of Chinese robotics.
































