The economic hardware/software debate about China just got more complicated. Before DeepSeek flipped the script on the artificial intelligence game, many economists worried China had way too much of the former and not enough of the latter.

Government policies, generous funding and a pipeline of AI graduates have helped Chinese firms create advanced LLMs.

Emojis of “DeepSeek pride,” often with smiling cats or dogs, flooded Chinese social media, adding to the festive Lunar New Year atmosphere.