When the Chinese start-up DeepSeek released its latest artificial intelligence model last month, it edged Beijing closer to a future that it has spent years trying to build.
In a small but meaningful break from American technology, DeepSeek said for the first time that its new model had been optimized to run on chips made by the Chinese tech giant Huawei. This was a milestone in China’s long-running effort to develop advanced technologies at home and reduce its reliance on Western innovation.
While most of the world’s leading A.I. systems still rely on semiconductors from the U.S. chip-making giant Nvidia, Chinese A.I. firms are increasingly turning to homegrown alternatives.
The timing of DeepSeek’s announcement — before this week’s scheduled summit between President Trump and Xi Jinping, China’s leader — gives Beijing fresh confidence entering trade talks that U.S. export controls on Nvidia chips have not derailed China’s A.I. development.
Any meaningful shift by China away from American A.I. technology could limit the impact of U.S. export controls and deprive Washington of a critical source of leverage over Beijing. That prospect gained urgency since DeepSeek’s A.I. technology rattled the U.S. tech industry and turned the company into a potent symbol of China’s drive for technological self-sufficiency.
Before last year’s meeting between the two leaders, Mr. Trump said he planned to discuss Nvidia’s most powerful A.I. chips with Mr. Xi, fueling speculation that the United States might ease restrictions on the technology.
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