21/01/2026

BIZ & FINANCE WEDNESDAY | JAN 21, 2026

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Inside China’s AI boom after DeepSeek Hong Kong this month.

Google’s Gemini is catching up at 18%, Similarweb estimates. DeepSeek’s decision to make its systems’ inner workings public, in contrast to the closed AI models sold by OpenAI and other Western rivals, has boosted adoption of its tools by developers and businesses, Neil Shah at Counterpoint Research said. Its tools have had “strong adoption in cost-sensitive emerging markets”, he said. But in the West users are more cautious, “primarily on account of privacy and national security concerns”. Even so, the domestic market is huge. By June 2025, more than half a billion Chinese internet users reported having used generative AI products, according to the China Internet Network Information Centre. Entrepreneur Yang Yiwen said her parents had their first meaningful encounter with AI during last year’s Chinese New Year, when they watched her use DeepSeek to plan a family trip. “They found it quite fun,” she said.

“engineer dividend” that benefits its AI sector, and talent is flocking to the field. Online hiring platform Zhilian Zhaopin reported a 39% increase in applications to AI-related jobs in the first three quarters of 2025, after DeepSeek’s breakout. “China has a huge application developer ecosystem and people are very good at building apps,” Shen Qiajin, founder of ideaFlow, told AFP. “But for a very long time, we didn’t have a good cost-efficient model,” he said. That is a gap DeepSeek has now filled. The firm began in 2023 as a side project of a data-driven hedge fund co-founded in the tech hub Hangzhou by Liang Wenfeng, which had access to a cache of powerful Nvidia processors. Today, the company – expected to release its next AI model within weeks – holds 4% of global market share for chatbots, according to web traffic analysis company Similarweb. ChatGPT dominates at 68% while

o Smart tech hiring jumps 39% as talents flood country’s fast-growing sector

Frenzy over the much-hyped potential of AI to change the world is driving global stocks to record highs, led by chipmakers and tech giants. But the big-spending euphoria has sparked fears of a market crash, with many investors hyper-focused on any sign the AI bubble could burst, and questioning when new companies will become profitable. Access to top-end chips made by US giant Nvidia is also restricted in China under White House policies designed to curb China’s technological development. But that hasn’t dampened the spirits of young developers in the world’s second largest economy. At an AI networking event held on a brisk winter afternoon last week in a stylish Beijing cafe, animated discussion filled the air about the future of the fast-moving industry. Chip export controls mean Chinese AI is more likely to be “open source and cheap” which could make it more useful to society, said one participant, entrepreneur Li Weijia. China is often said to enjoy an Japan logged 42.7 million arrivals last year, according to the transport ministry, topping 2024’s record of nearly 37 million as the weak yen boosted the appeal of the “bucket list” destination. However, the number of tourists from China last month dropped about 45% from a year earlier to around 330,000. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s suggestion in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on Taiwan triggered a sharp diplomatic backlash from China, which urged its citizens to avoid travelling to Japan. Yesterday’s announcement showed the warning has had an impact on visitor numbers. China has been the biggest source of tourists to the Japanese archipelago, with almost 7.5 million visitors in the first nine months of 2025 – a quarter of all foreign tourists, according to official figures. Attracted by a weak yen, Chinese tourists splashed out the equivalent of US$3.7 billion (RM15 billion) in the third quarter. However, Transport Minister Yasushi Kaneko said it was a “significant achievement” that overall visitors numbers had topped 40 million people for the first time. “While the number of Chinese tourists in December decreased, we attracted a sufficient number of people from many other countries and regions to offset that,“ he said, adding that there had been a “steep” increase in tourists from Europe, the US and Australia. “We also hope and want to make sure that Chinese visitors will return to us as soon as possible.” The overall increase is partly due to government policies to promote

TAIPEI: Taiwan aims to build a “democratic” high-tech supply chain with the U S and form a strategic AI partnership under the new tariffs deal it sealed with Washington last week, Taipei’s top negotiator in the talks said yesterday. US President Donald Trump has pushed the major producer of semiconductors, which runs a large trade surplus with the US, to invest more in the US, specifically in chips that power AI. Under the terms of the long negotiated deal, chipmakers like TSMC that expand US production will incur a lower tariff on semiconductors or related manufacturing equipment and products they import into the US and will be able to import some items duty-free. Broad tariffs that apply to most other Taiwanese exports to the US will fall from 20% to 15%. Taiwan companies will also invest US$250 billion (RM1 trillion) to boost production of semiconductors, energy and artificial intelligence (AI) in the US, while Taiwan will also guarantee an additional US$250 billion in credit to facilitate further investment. Speaking to reporters in Taipei, Vice-Premier Cheng Li-chiun said the deal was not about hollowing out Taiwan’s chip industry, which is so important for the economy it is widely referred to as the “sacred mountain protecting the country”. “This is not supply-chain relocation; rather, it is support for Taiwan’s high-tech industries to extend their strength abroad – through addition, and even multiplication – to expand a strong international footprint in the US,“ she said. Under the agreement, chipmakers that expand in the US will be able to import up to 2.5 times their new capacity of semiconductors and BEIJING: Before DeepSeek shook up the tech world and put Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) on the map, Wu Chenglin’s own startup had nearly folded three times – but in the past year it has raised US$30 million (RM122 million). The January 2025 release of a low cost generative AI model from DeepSeek that performed at a similar level to ChatGPT and other top American chatbots upended assumptions of US dominance in the sensitive sector. The breakthrough has galvanised China’s AI scene, despite hurdles posed by rivalry with the US, and fears of a global market bubble. “It gave a lot of people confidence” that China’s AI community previously lacked, Wu told AFP. His venture DeepWisdom, whose flagship product is a platform for AI powered software development, had

wafers with no extra tariffs during an approved construction period. Preferential treatment would apply to chips that exceed that quota. Cheng said Taiwan has secured preferential treatment in advance under any future Section 232 measures on semiconductors, which is an ongoing US national security investigation into imports of key products like chips and pharmaceuticals. “As for what the actual Section 232 semiconductor tariff will be in the future, (US Commerce) Secretary Lutnick recently mentioned a possible rate of 100%, but this remains undecided,“ Cheng said. “Regardless, under any future tariff scenario, we have ensured that the US will grant Taiwan the most favourable treatment: zero tariffs within the quota and preferential tariffs even outside the quota.” In an interview with CNBC last week, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said that if companies do not build in the US, a tariff would likely be 100%. “In the past we said, ‘Taiwan can help’,“ Cheng added, referring to Taiwan’s past efforts to help the international community during the Covid pandemic and other crises. “We hope in the future it will be “Taiwan-US can lead,‘ with the two sides joining forces and, under the wave of AI, working together to build a high-tech supply chain for the democratic camp. This is our strategic objective.” The US is Taiwan’s most important backer and arms supplier, despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties. Beijing claims the democratically governed island as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to achieve its goals. – Reuters struggled to stay afloat despite its popularity among programmers. But as excitement around DeepSeek fuelled a boom in spending, Wu raised 220 million yuan (RM128 million) in two funding rounds. Meanwhile, Shi Yaqiong and her team at Beijing-based Jinqiu Capital have closed deals with more than 50 AI firms over the past 12 months. Shi, the fund’s vice-president, described a “clear surge” in enthusiasm around Chinese AI and competition among investors since the DeepSeek shock. “The kind of projects with an initial valuation in 2024 of US$10-20 million were, in 2025, expected to have initial valuations around US$20-40 million,” she said. Shares in two leading Chinese AI startups Zhipu AI and MiniMax soared on their market debuts in

Taiwan to lead ‘democratic’ tech supply chain with US

Japan welcomes record number of tourists TOKYO: A record number of tourists flocked to Japan in 2025, officials said yesterday, despite a steep fall in Chinese visitors in December as a diplomatic row between Beijing and Tokyo rumbled on.

Europe, US and Australia offset fall in Chinese tourists to push Japan past 40 million visitors. - UNSPLASH PIX

As in other global tourist magnets like Venice in Italy, there has been growing pushback from residents in the ancient capital. The tradition-steeped city, just a couple of hours from Tokyo on the bullet train, is famed for its kimono clad geisha performers and increasingly crowded Buddhist temples. Locals have complained of disrespectful tourists harassing the geisha in a frenzy for photos, as well as causing traffic congestion and littering. Elsewhere, exasperated officials have taken steps to improve visitors, including introducing an entry fee and a daily cap on the number of hikers climbing Mount Fuji. A barrier was briefly erected outside a convenience store in 2024 to stop people standing in the road to photograph a view of the snow capped volcano that had gone viral. – AFP

attractions from Mount Fuji’s majestic slopes to shrines and sushi bars in more far-flung parts of the archipelago. The government has set an ambitious target of reaching 60 million tourists annually by 2030. However Japan’s biggest travel agency JTB forecasted that overall tourist numbers this year would be “slightly lower” compared to 2025 due to a decrease in demand from China and Hong Kong. Nevertheless tourism income was expected to increase due to rising prices of items such as lodging and strong spending among visitors. It added that due to an uptick in repeat visitors to Japan, the places people want to visit are shifting from large cities to rural areas. Authorities say they want to spread sightseers more evenly around the country, as complaints of overcrowding in hotspots like Kyoto grow.