Security guards are monitoring during the opening session of the National People’s Assembly (NPC) held at the Beijing convention on March 5, 2025.
Wang Zhao | AFP | Getty Images
Beijing – The undercurrent of China’s annual parliamentary meeting this week is US trade tensions, and how Chinese technology is offsetting that pressure.
This year’s mostly ceremonial gathering of representatives in Beijing came just as US President Donald Trump addressed Congress and imposed new tariffs on Chinese goods. It is clear drugs of exports that Chinese companies face severe restrictions on accessing high-end semiconductors and other advanced technologies.
“Internationally… an increasingly complex and serious external environment could have a major impact on China in areas such as trade, science and technology,” Chinese Prime Minister Li Qian said in his annual report on the government’s work at the opening ceremony of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
It was an unusually harsh review at least among the seven parliamentary meetings I attended. However, I have also been more motivated to support the private sector than in the past, especially as it relates to innovations such as the Chinese AI company Deepseek.
“We will promote sound and well-regulated development of the platform economy, encourage innovation, and give it a better play in expanding consumption and stabilizing employment,” Li said in the work report.
This gave the latest signal that Beijing wanted to support the private sector after taking a much more restrictive stance previously, imposing massive fines on tech giants Alibaba and Tencent, then imposes massive fines called Chinese “platform” companies. Many Chinese companies and industries have historically been dominated by states.
The recent rise of Deepseek has been demonstrated by many international investors who have become cautious about how Chinese companies can compete with the US on AI, regardless of White House sanctions.
Beijing quickly confirmed the success of the startup. Liang Wenfeng of Deepseek attended a meeting with Prime Minister Li in January and a symposium with Chinese President Xi Jinping in February.
To counter protectionism?
Deepseek was unable to get specific mentions in the government’s work report, but a member of the team that drafted the report, and applications such as Kuaishou’s Kling AI spoke to reports on China’s rapid AI development on Wednesday.
“Historically, technological advancements are often a key force to break through barriers and protectionism,” Chen Chang Shen, deputy director of the State Council’s Research Bureau, said in the Mandarin translated by CNBC.
“We look forward to seeing AI become a positive energy to promote cooperation and multilateralism under the current international context,” he said.
Hong Kong, China – January 28: In the illustration in this photo you can see the Deepseek app on the phone in front of the Chinese flag in Hong Kong, China on January 28, 2025.
Anthony Kwan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
According to the Chinese version, “Tech” mentioned one more in this year’s report and last year’s report, while “reform” received 10 more mentions. In contrast to the 2024 pass, Tech Independence has acquired its own subsection in China’s latest annual work report.
New Law
China’s parliament is discussing new laws to support the private sector. Beijing said it would be enacted as soon as possible after further discussion and revision.
According to CNBC translation of her Mandarin Language Remarks, Din Wenzhi, investment strategist for global capital investment at China Asset Management, said this year that policies are likely to be driven more from the bottom up rather than from the top down.
She warned that while she hopes that AI and Tech growth will drive the development of other industries, it is likely that companies will need one or two or more quarters to see the results.
China’s parliamentary meeting will formally close early next week. More official comments on technology and private sector law are expected to flow in the coming days.
Among the top priorities of the year, Prime Minister Lee said he supports “a wide range of applications for large-scale AI models.” Beijing plans to increase funding for biomanufacturing, quantum technology, AI-related robotics and 6G technology.
Industry-specific goals arise as China seeks to increase consumer spending, minimize drag from real estate, and navigate trade tensions with the US.
China’s policy focus is on accelerating the adoption of AI and autonomous driving, but gradually progressing with housing restructuring, [local government financing vehicle] Debt,” Morgan Stanley’s chief China economist Robin Singh said in a memo on Wednesday. They said, “The fiscal package came as expected: [2 trillion yuan ($280 billion)] Extension with mild support for consumption. ”
Official China comments during this week’s meeting suggest that they prefer the open source model.
The drafting team for Chen on the Work Report warned against the “over” use of private AI projects that could fragment the market, calling for “large applications” instead.
China will also work to improve computing capabilities and develop “open source model systems.” This is what the economic planning body, known as the National Development and Reform Commission, states in this year’s plan.
