By TOI Tech Desk
Publication Date: 2026-01-02 13:30:00
Chinese leader Xi Jinping used his New Year’s address to send a clear signal to Washington: American chip restrictions aren’t slowing down China’s AI ambitions. Speaking from Beijing on Wednesday, Xi celebrated his country’s homegrown AI models and chipmaking breakthroughs, highlighting how China has turned trade barriers into opportunities for tech independence.“Many large AI models have been competing in a race to the top, and breakthroughs have been achieved in the research and development of our own chips,” Xi said in his annual address. He emphasized that these innovations have made China “one of the economies with the fastest-growing innovation capabilities.”
Trump ‘s chip embargo inadvertently fueled China’s tech sector
The timing of Xi’s remarks is significant. His celebration comes after years of escalating US trade restrictions under both the Biden and Trump administrations, which were designed to limit China’s access to advanced AI chips from companies like Nvidia. Rather than crippling Chinese tech development, these restrictions appear to have…
