A girl holds a mobile phone that includes the DeepSeek emblem, with the Nvidia emblem displayed within the background.
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As China and the U.S. compete in synthetic insigt, Southeast Asia must draw from the most productive of each nations hour construction its personal applied sciences, panelists mentioned at CNBC’s East Tech West 2025 conference on June 27 in Bangkok, Thailand.
Julian Gorman, head of Asia-Pacific at cell community business group GSMA, mentioned it could be a damaging building if Southeast Asia was once pressured to pick out a facet.
“Southeast Asia is very dependent on both economies, both China and America. I think it’s pretty hard to consider that they would go one way or the other,” Gorman mentioned.
“It’s very important that we continue to focus on not fragmenting the technology, standardizing it, and working so that technology transcends geopolitics and ultimately is used for good,” he added.
The unfold of U.S. and Chinese language AI firms into pristine international markets has been a fat pattern this month as each Beijing and Washington search extra international affect in complex applied sciences.
U.S. and China choices
Consistent with George Chen, managing director and co-chair of virtual follow for The Asia Crew, Southeast Asia had to begin with been leaning in opposition to AI fashions from the U.S., akin to the ones from Google and Microsoft.
Then again, the emergence of China’s DeepSeek has propelled the recognition of the corporate’s fashions in Southeast Asia because of its low value and open-source licensing, which will also be impaired to develop on and adapt fashions to regional priorities.
Noticeable-source typically refers to instrument through which the supply code is made freely to be had, permitting any person to view, regulate and redistribute it. Immense language style avid gamers in China had been leaning into this business model since DeepSeek’s debut.
Previous panels at East Tech West have flagged open-source models as an important tool for regions outside of China and the U.S. to build their own sovereign AI capabilities.
Meanwhile, on the hardware side, the U.S. remains a leader in AI processors through chip giant Nvidia. While the U.S. has restricted China’s access to these chips, they remain on the market for Southeast Asia – which Chen suggested the region continue to take advantage of.
However, Chen noted that there is a possibility that the AI landscape could change dramatically in a decade, with China being able to provide more affordable alternatives to Nvidia.
“Don’t take a side easily and too quickly. Think about how to maximize your economic potential,” he suggested.
GSMA’s Gorman pointed out that facing this “balancing act” between the superpowers is not new for Southeast Asia. For example, the region’s mobility industry heavily relies on Chinese tech manufacturing and hardware, as well as the U.S. for other areas such as telecommunications.
Southeast Asia’s edge
Though the U.S. and China are clearly ahead in building advanced AI models, Southeast Asia has its own edge in the global AI space, panelists said.
“If you think about AI as a technology, eventually you need to apply it to a real product to service. That’s how people can use it,” said The Asia Group’s Chen.
The region has a strong app environment which offers “great potential,” he added. “The demographic is young, which means the potential for talent is always there, and R&D cost is relatively cheaper than other places.”
Cost considerations have already contributed to Malaysia’s growth as a global powerhouse in AI data centers and computing, particularly in the southern Johor region.
Still, Southeast Asia should make sure to bring in companies which have advanced manufacturing that domestic industries can learn and benefit from – a strategy that China used to catch up to the West in advanced technologies, said Chen.
According to GSMA’s Gorman, Southeast Asia could also be a neutral ground between China and the U.S., where the two sides come together and have high-level dialogues on how to apply AI responsibly.
Southeast Asia can also play a proactive role in AI regulation itself, he said, citing recent examples of regulatory leadership from the region, such as Singapore’s Shared Responsibility Framework for tackling global scams and fraud.
Thus far, there were few international laws on AI. Past the EU has followed a policy, the U.S. and ASEAN nations have not begun to practice swimsuit.
Chen added that the area will want to band in combination and undertake usual frameworks to realize a extra seat on the desk of worldwide AI building and legislation.
