Opinion | Why DeepSeek caught so many in the West by surprise

Anxiety around DeepSeek reflects just how much confirmation bias about China has prevented many in the West from understanding the country

Reading Time:3 minutes

Television graphics are seen in the window of Nasdaq headquarters in Times Square, US, as the Nasdaq fell nearly 4 per cent on the morning of January 27, upon news that a cheaper Chinese generative AI programme DeepSeek can outperform its big-name rivals in the US. Photo: AFP

Published: 4:30pm, 2 Feb 2025

To those of us who follow Western media, the typical reporting about China tends to centre around its label as a competitor and rival, as opposed to a partner.

Spy stories surrounding China dominate headlines, and are picked up and shared widely. Western expats in Hong Kong such as myself then get asked about these stories and are expected to provide answers that support the apocalyptic reporting on China.

There is little room for nuance in such talk, and people on the other end often do not want to hear about any achievements or progress in China; nor is there any interest in truly understanding China’s complex political, economic, social, technological and legal ecosystem.

Granted, one should be careful not to generalise too broadly here but it is clear that a mental image has been formed in the West of China and any information challenging that image gets hastily blocked or even sparks disbelief and anxiety.

A potent example is the general lack of reporting on the recent visa relaxation arrangements in China for a host of countries. Even though it is the first time in my lifetime that travel to China from my country has become so easy, these visa arrangements were scarcely or only superficially reported in much of the Western media.

A dangerous consensus on China seems to be shaping in much of the West, and certainly the Western media. Linked to this image is a large-scale confirmation bias that may result in cognitive dissonance. Both concepts are often used in behavioural economics to understand people’s thinking and decision-making.