How China is pushing its tech ambitions despite US restrictions

China showcases tech amid challenges

At a sprawling trade fair in Hangzhou, Chinese companies displayed their latest technological inventions — from boxing robots to AI-powered exam graders. The showcase highlighted China’s growing strength in advanced industries, but it also underscored the challenges the country faces amid US trade restrictions and intense domestic competition, the New York Times reported.

A show of innovation in Hangzhou

The Global Digital Trade Expo, covering an area larger than 21 football fields, featured everything from self-driving yachts to emotional support robots. Tesla’s Cybertruck made an appearance, though it cannot be sold in China due to regulatory hurdles. The event was designed to project China’s transformation from a factory of cheap labour into a high-tech leader capable of rivalling the United States.

Trade tensions in the background

The timing of the expo carried political weight. Senior Chinese officials used the stage to call for global cooperation, while Russia’s deputy prime minister attended as a guest of honour. The backdrop, however, was a strained relationship with Washington, where President Trump has imposed restrictions on advanced AI chip exports and accused China of “ripping us off.” Chinese leaders countered by emphasizing “win-win cooperation” and digital growth.

Profits are harder to find

While the fair dazzled with futuristic gadgets, a question loomed: who will buy them, and can companies survive the competition? China’s electric vehicle makers, numbering over 100 brands, face a brutal price war in which only a few are profitable. Start-ups like urinal-cleaning robot makers are eager to expand abroad, but most firms remain heavily dependent on domestic buyers and razor-thin margins.

US curbs and China’s push for self-reliance

American export bans on advanced AI chips have hit companies like iFlyTek, once reliant on US technology. But the company has pressed ahead, unveiling new products such as AI translators and exam-grading machines. It now relies on domestic alternatives like Huawei-made chips, though questions remain about whether substitutes can match Nvidia’s performance. For President Xi Jinping, building an “autonomously controllable” tech ecosystem is now central to national strategy.

Trade surpluses cushion the blow

Despite falling trade with the United States, China’s global exports have kept its economy afloat, with trade surpluses accounting for nearly half of growth last year. The export drive has blunted the pain of a prolonged property market slump. But dependence on overseas demand makes profitability a persistent challenge, especially as foreign buyers express unease about China’s growing dominance in strategic industries.

The unanswered questions

Some firms at the expo avoided discussing the impact of US restrictions altogether. DeepSeek, the AI start-up that shocked Silicon Valley last year by matching OpenAI’s chatbot capabilities using Nvidia chips, left its booth unmanned, raising speculation about whether chip shortages had delayed its next release. The silence illustrated the central dilemma: China can showcase an abundance of cutting-edge inventions, but without stable access to top-level technology and reliable profits, its ambition may outpace its results.