【By Liu Bai, Observer】Faced with China's almost all-around rapid technological progress, how will Silicon Valley, long regarded as the global technology leader, react?
The New York Times in the United States on October 22 wrote an article that directly stated: "Silicon Valley is obsessed with and envious of China."
The article said that a complex emotion of anxiety, envy, and self-reflection is sweeping over the U.S. tech center—Silicon Valley. Faced with China's rapid advancement in areas such as infrastructure construction, artificial intelligence applications, and manufacturing at a "mechanical speed," many Silicon Valley elites have begun to re-examine and admire China's efficiency and execution capability, while reflecting on the problems in the U.S. itself in infrastructure, regulation, and manufacturing.
The author believes that Silicon Valley's envy of China not only sparked discussions about work models and industrial policies for imitation, but also reflects the state of the United States, revealing the struggle of this country after losing confidence.
The article states that in social media posts, podcasts, interviews, and newsletters, American tech elites are full of admiration for China's infrastructure speed, manufacturing strength, and the innovative capabilities of artificial intelligence company DeepSeek. At the same time, they are also lamenting America's outdated infrastructure, complicated regulatory system, and an economy that can't even manufacture screws, drones, or its own production equipment.
Some people have called for launching a U.S. version of the DeepSeek project, similar to how China released industrial declarations.
"When China is moving forward at full speed, circulating goods, people, and information at a mechanical speed, we may be stuck in the past," warned a recent blog post from venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz.
A fascination with China, mixed with curiosity, anxiety, and envy, is prevalent among Silicon Valley leaders and policy-focused Democrats. Long-standing stereotypes about China are being re-evaluated.
Anhui Wuhu: Workers in the workshop are accelerating the assembly of various intelligent robots, Visual China
For example, some used to think Chinese companies only imitate, but now they have suddenly become a model for studying efficiency and scale; some used to cite China's state-led system, but now consider it a benchmark for efficient implementation.
The article believes that regardless of which perspective, their prevalence reveals the deep psychological state of Americans—the country is struggling to adapt to a world where it is no longer the sole source of technological progress.
"For American elites, the reality that the U.S. is not creating the future, but other countries are, is hard to accept," said Silicon Valley tech writer Afra Wang. "It's not just about technology, but also an issue of identity."
This identity crisis affects not only the technology field.
When American tourists post videos of China's bridges, high-speed rail, and city skylines on social media, the so-called "affluent" Democrats who are frustrated by America's inability to build housing and high-speed rail are also influenced by this sentiment.
"Affluent Democrats" is an emerging trend or faction within the Democratic Party in the United States, advocating addressing social challenges through increasing supply of key products and services, emphasizing "supply-side liberalism" and streamlining processes to improve government efficiency.
The article states that the recent worship of China highlights how little Americans know about the country, and reflects the disillusionment of many people with their own country. By seeing China as a mirror, the U.S. has seen its strengths and weaknesses more clearly than ever before in decades.
The vigilance of tech leaders is not without reason. The old U.S. "innovation—manufacturing—export" model has collapsed after the large-scale outsourcing of manufacturing. Now, the U.S. mainly focuses on design, while China increasingly takes on the former U.S. "manufacturing—production" model. In a tense geopolitical environment centered around supply chains, manufacturing capacity has become a critical ability with both strategic significance and survival value.
The challenges go beyond traditional manufacturing. The integration of artificial intelligence and hardware is crucial.
August 9, Beijing, 2025 World Robot Conference (WRC 2025) held in Beijing, IC Photo
American venture capitalist Marc Andreessen said: "Machines today are the physical form of software, the embodiment of artificial intelligence. Cars are no longer just steel and glass—they are robots with wheels."
He admitted that China is leading in all fields related to physical manufacturing, and has a significant advantage in the integration of hardware and artificial intelligence manufacturing.
Silicon Valley's attention to China is a positive sign.
Chinese entrepreneurs have spent decades studying the U.S.: they read biographies of Steve Jobs and Elon Musk, carefully studied the translated version of Peter Thiel and Blake Masters' book "Zero to One," and built business models and management philosophies around Silicon Valley's operational model.
The article believes that U.S. companies are racing to develop machines smarter than humans. However, if Silicon Valley deeply studies China, it would find that China's artificial intelligence industry is not obsessed with general artificial intelligence. Chinese entrepreneurs focus more on applying artificial intelligence in service, equipment, and manufacturing sectors.
Former Google chairman Eric Schmidt and colleague Selina Xu once urged Silicon Valley to reduce its obsession with general artificial intelligence, learn from Chinese peers, and integrate artificial intelligence into daily life.
While describing the impact China has had on Silicon Valley, the article believes that both narratives—dismissing China or seeing it as a "giant"—are simplified reactions to a complex reality. The article also has a touch of bitterness, saying that these narratives may be overestimated, as the Chinese tech sector also has "speculators and dead ends."
The author suggests that U.S. policymakers and Silicon Valley need to objectively assess China and its tech industry, including its strengths and limitations, as well as the real reasons behind its efficiency and scale.
The article also points out some people's hidden motives, stating that U.S. tech leaders exaggerate China's capabilities or threats, partly to pressure Washington to impose tariffs and regulatory restrictions on Chinese counterparts, and to secure federal funding support. By defining China's rise as a matter of life and death, they can push the government to inject funds into their industries. The more they can incite panic among U.S. politicians and the public, the more influence they have, ultimately gaining more power.
September 27, Guizhou: The world's highest bridge, Hua Jiang Gorge Bridge, officially opened, IC Photo
CEO of startup Scale AI, Alex Wang, once urged President Trump to expand federal government support for artificial intelligence to match China's investment in the "new technology arms race."
NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said that Chinese chips are only lagging "a few nanoseconds," and are not behind the U.S. in artificial intelligence. Although these assessments are controversial, they reflect that China has become the default benchmark in almost all cutting-edge fields.
The article also points out that discussions in Silicon Valley about China often ignore domestic contradictions: some leaders calling for the U.S. revival also support policies that undermine the revival—cutting university funding, tightening technical immigration visa rules, and waging trade wars that disrupt supply chains with allies like Canada and Mexico.
While the U.S. is still debating how to rebuild, China is increasing government support for R&D.
The article concludes that Silicon Valley's envy of China ultimately reflects more the state of the U.S., reflecting the country's struggle after losing confidence.
Equally worth remembering is that Sino-U.S. technological competition is an ongoing contest. In 2018, China faced its "Sputnik moment": under heavy U.S. sanctions, a tech company was on the verge of collapse, prompting China to accelerate the development of chips and other technologies to reduce dependence on the U.S.
On November 30, 2022, when OpenAI launched ChatGPT, Chinese AI engineers referred to that day as their "ChatGPT moment," increasing a sense of urgency.
But just two years later, DeepSeek launched a low-cost, high-performance chatbot that could run on weaker computer chips. This became the "Sputnik moment" for the U.S. AI industry, reminding people that this competition is endless.
This article is an exclusive piece by Observer, and unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7564058429644390927/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author and welcomes your opinion by clicking the 【Up/Down】 buttons below.