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Zhang Zhipeng

The global artificial intelligence community’s attention was recently focused on DeepSeek’s latest open-source model, Math-V2, the first open-source AI model to score a gold medal-level performance at the International Mathematical Olympiad. But while California might hone in on the test scores, Jakarta and Nairobi are looking at something else entirely.
For the Global South, the critical question is more likely to be whether that reasoning capability can optimise fertiliser distribution in a drought or balance a fragile power grid.
As nations in Africa, Southeast Asia and Latin America increasingly integrate Chinese AI into their technology, Western observers often characterise this trend as a simple search for bargain-bin prices or a disregard for data privacy. This view is reductive.
The Global South’s embrace of Chinese AI is not merely economic; it is civilisational. It stems from a profound philosophical alignment between China’s “material pragmatism” – a focus on tangible utility – and the indigenous values of developing nations.
At the heart of China’s technological approach lies the ancient concept of dao-qi unity. In this philosophical tradition, the dao or the Way – abstract principles, logic or wisdom – cannot be separated from the qi, or vessel: the physical world and the tangible instruments in it. Technology is not viewed as a mere tool severed from high truth, but as the necessary embodiment of it.
This stands in contrast to the Silicon Valley ethos, which often prioritises AI as a “brain in a jar” – a disembodied superintelligence designed to generate text or video. The Chinese approach, forged in the fires of domestic industrial competition, views AI as “relational infrastructure”: a connective tissue for physical systems. It is designed to get its hands dirty.


This is why Beijing invests heavily in embedding intelligence into “hard” sectors: mines, ports and factories. For developing nations, an AI that exists only in the cloud is, in a profound sense, immaterial. They need AI that has an impact in the physical world. Instead of artificial general intelligence, China focuses on what might be called “artificial productive intelligence”. This emphasis on dao-qi unity resonates deeply with the Global South because it mirrors their developmental and cultural mandates.
In Africa, the mandate is communal resilience, a value encapsulated in the philosophy of ubuntu (“I am because we are”). Consider Nigeria, where power theft and inefficiencies once pushed grid losses to 45 per cent. Ikeja Electric deployed AI-driven metering solutions by Huawei that the Chinese company said slashed losses to 14 per cent.
From a Western individualist perspective, such centralised monitoring might raise privacy concerns. But through the lens of ubuntu, safeguarding the shared resource – the grid and its stability – takes precedence. The technology is accepted not just because it recovers revenue, but because it protects the community’s lifeline from individual disruption. It is a technological implementation of collective well-being.
In Latin America, the challenge is modernisation without destruction, a concept reflected in the Andean philosophy of sumak kawsay (good living) and respect for pachamama (Mother Earth). Here, China’s “precision” approach finds a surprising cultural fit.
In the Ecuadorian Andes, farmers are using autonomous drones from Chinese manufacturer XAG to cultivate crops on steep slopes 3,000 metres above sea level. Western industrial agriculture typically relies on heavy tractors, which compact the fragile soil and are ill-suited to the terrain. The drones, however, fly above the canopy, preventing soil damage and, according to XAG, reducing chemical use by 30 per cent and water usage by 90 per cent.

Meanwhile, in Southeast Asia, the region’s cultural heritage of pragmatic governance aligns with the Chinese emphasis on concrete results over abstract definitions of rights. In Malaysia, the adoption of the AI-based “city brain” system by Alibaba Group Holding – which owns the Post – to manage Kuala Lumpur’s chronic traffic was a decision driven by utility considerations. By integrating traffic lights and camera feeds, commuting times were reduced.
For the average commuter, the “freedom” to sit in traffic is no freedom at all. The Chinese system offered a tangible improvement to daily lives. It prioritised the systemic efficiency of a functioning city – a value that resonates in societies where governance is judged by its ability to deliver reliability and prosperity.
Some critics frame the expansion of Chinese tech as a geopolitical trap, a “digital silk road” paved with debt and dependency. While nations must remain vigilant about data sovereignty, framing the issue solely as a trap misses the agency of the Global South. These nations are not passive recipients. They are active choosers.


Major players like Brazil and Indonesia are positioning themselves as digital “swing states”, refusing to align exclusively with Washington or Beijing. American AI tech is undeniably powerful, but it is also expensive and there is the jurisdictional risk of the US CLOUD Act. For them, Chinese AI technology offers an essential Plan B – a sovereignty-compliant layer of infrastructure that lets them keep their data on their soil.
Ultimately, AI is not just a tool; it is a carrier of world views. Silicon Valley’s dominant narrative champions AI as an autonomous agent, a creator of content. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.
For the Global South, the choice is clear. They are not just buying a cheaper product. They are choosing a technology that fits their budget, respects their sovereignty and, perhaps most importantly, speaks their cultural language.


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The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy


The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy.


Artificial intelligence (AI)

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AI: Companies

AI: Policy

AI: Industry Trends

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Alibaba

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Asia Tech

Malaysia

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Expresses the views, ideas and conclusions of the author. (Eg. Enough of Crazy Rich Asians, think of crazy poor Hongkongers.)


For the Global South, Chinese AI principles resonate deeply

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy

The US champions AI as an autonomous agent, a content creator. China exports a vision of AI as a digital nervous system for the real economy