Woman holding a mobile phone with DeepSeek logo showing the NVIDIA logo in the background.
Parenting | Parenting | Getty Images
With China and the United States competing in artificial intelligence, Southeast Asia should draw its own technology from the best of both countries while building its own technology. East Tech West 2025 Conference June 27 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Julian Gorman, head of the Asia-Pacific region of mobile online trade organization GSMA, said that if Southeast Asia is forced to choose between any superpower, it would be a negative development.
“Southeast Asia is very dependent on economies of China and the United States. I think it’s hard to think about them going one way or another,” Gorman said.
He added: “It is very important that we continue to focus on the work that does not undermine technology, standardize it and run to bring technology beyond geopolitics and ultimately to goodness.”
Our communication with Chinese artificial intelligence companies New global markets With Beijing and Washington seeking, this year has been a big trend More global influence In advanced technology.
American and Chinese products
Southeast Asia has initially tended toward AI models from the United States, such as those from Google and Microsoft, according to George Chen, managing director and co-chair of digital practice at Asia Group.
However, the emergence of DeepSeek in China has driven the popularity of the company’s model in Southeast Asia, which can be used to build and adapt to regional priorities due to its low-cost and open source licenses.
Open source usually refers to software that provides source code for free so that anyone can view, modify and redistribute it. Large language model participants in China have already Positive to this business model Since DeepSeek debuted.
Previous panel At East Tech, West labels open source models as an important tool outside China and the United States to build its own sovereign AI capabilities.
Meanwhile, in terms of hardware, the United States remains the leader in AI processors through Chip Giant Nvidia. Although the United States has restricted China’s access to these chips, they are still in the Southeast Asian market – Chen recommends that the region continue to utilize.
However, Chen pointed out that the AI landscape is likely to change dramatically within a decade, and China can provide Nvidia with a more affordable alternative.
He advises: “Don’t be easy, too fast. Think about how to maximize your financial potential.”
GSMA’s Gorman pointed out that facing this “balanced behavior” among superpowers is nothing new for Southeast Asia. For example, the mobility industry in the region relies heavily on Chinese technology manufacturing and hardware, as well as in the United States in other fields such as telecommunications.
The edge of Southeast Asia
Team members said that while the United States and China are clearly leading the way in building advanced AI models, Southeast Asia has its own advantages in the global AI field.
“If you think of AI as technology, you end up applying it to a real product or service. That’s how people can use it,” said Chen from Asia Group.
He added that the region has a strong application environment that offers “huge potential.” “The crowd is young, which means the potential of talent always exists, and R&D costs are cheaper than elsewhere.”
Cost considerations have led to growth in Malaysia Global power in AI data centers and computingespecially in southern Johor.
Nonetheless, Southeast Asia should aim to attract companies with advanced capabilities, and domestic industries can benefit from it – a strategy China adopts to catch up with the West of advanced technology.
Leader of AI regulations?
According to GSMA’s Gorman, Southeast Asia can act as a neutral stance between China and the United States, where both sides can unite and have a high-level conversation on how to apply AI responsibly.
He said Southeast Asia could also play an active role in the AI regulations themselves and take regulatory leadership measures in the region, such as Singapore’s. Shared responsibility framework Solve international scams and fraud.
So far, there are few global regulations on AI. The EU adopted policythe United States and ASEAN countries have not followed suit.
Chen added that the region will need to unite and adopt a common framework to gain a more prominent seat in the global AI development and regulatory table.
