Chips, Robots, and “Your Own AI”: The Breakthrough of China’s Tech Innovation Power

Original article by 南方人物周刊 Southern People Weekly

Author: Ruan Baiqing

Published on July 26, 2025, 17:31 | Guangdong

Image by Visual China 

China is undergoing a transformation driven by technological innovation. Even those outside the tech industry can feel the impact of this change in their daily lives.

HarmonyOS has risen to the mainstream, with domestically developed operating systems leading a wave of device upgrades at breakneck speed, gradually displacing the once-dominant Apple. When robots donned floral jackets to perform on the Spring Festival Gala stage, netizens joked about “cyber square dancing,” yet the world clearly recognized the level of China’s robotic motion control technology.

“Digital Chinese brands” are sweeping across the globe—not as small, niche breakthroughs, but as a steady surge of diverse forces heading overseas, all resonating with a distinctly Chinese voice. From these enterprises, one can trace similar trajectories of expansion: an embodiment of China’s unique spirit of breakthrough, infused with Eastern wisdom and quietly harmonizing with one another.

01

Technological Autonomy as the Foundation of Cultural Confidence

In fact, only five or six years ago, China’s digital technology was still in a fragile early phase. At that time, even the domestic market itself had little confidence in homegrown products. Beyond Android and iOS, no other operating system could break through; chips relied entirely on imports; AI was hardly a subject of discussion. The trade war once made the tech innovation sector feel, in a very real sense, as if its destiny had been seized by the throat.

Huawei was among the first Chinese tech giants to commit to in-house development, a strategy later revealed to be part of its long-running “spare tire” plan dating back to 2004. For over a decade, the company quietly invested in building technological independence, anticipating the possibility of a future technology blockade. By the early 2000s, its self-designed Kirin 9000 series—integrating 5G modems—had become the bedrock of Huawei’s breakthrough in advanced semiconductors. While NVIDIA maintained a firm grip on the global AI chip market, Huawei unveiled an ambitious initiative dubbed the “Da Vinci Project,” aimed at weaving AI into every layer of its products and services. At its core was the company’s own “Da Vinci” computing architecture, designed to support a full-stack approach spanning from chips to algorithms. This move not only pushed Huawei further up the ladder of technological innovation but also sent a powerful signal across the industry: building a proprietary AI architecture is challenging—but far from unattainable.

If the global competition in artificial intelligence has shifted from industrial commercialization to national strategic focus, then 2023, the so-called “first year of large models,” fired the opening salvo of the “Hundred-Model Battle.” While much of the international debate still revolved around whether ChatGPT or OpenAI’s platforms were more effective, a Chinese dark horse, DeepSeek, suddenly captured the spotlight, amassing 100 million users within just a week. The feat has been described as China’s “Sputnik moment” in AI—evoking the USSR's launch of Sputnik 1 in 1957, the world’s first artificial satellite, whose unexpected breakthrough sent shockwaves across the globe.

The era when China’s technology sector was “strangled at the throat” has, within just a few years, receded into history. Today, Chinese innovators are increasingly filling gaps in the global market with self-developed technologies. Consider artificial intelligence as a multi-lane highway. At present, the lane dominated by the Transformer architecture is heavily congested—a pattern established since Google first introduced the framework in 2017. Nearly all of the world’s best-known AI systems, from ChatGPT to DeepSeek, have been built by optimizing algorithms atop the Transformer model.But one Chinese startup, RockAI, is attempting a different route. In January 2024, the company unveiled Yan 1.0, a large model built on a non-Transformer architecture. Since then, RockAI has continued to iterate rapidly, and at the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference, it showcased new breakthroughs in autonomous learning—most notably the concept of native memory in large models. The demonstration once again underscored the value of Chinese innovation on the global stage.

Zhang Jiang High Tech Park

Image by Visual China

Traditional large models operate with what could be described as “short-term memory.” Each conversation is treated in isolation, with no carryover of experience from one interaction to the next—users are, in effect, always engaging with a “brand-new AI.” By contrast, RockAI’s Yan 2.0 Preview resembles a system with “long-term memory,” capable of retaining a user’s past expressions, preferences, and even linguistic style across multiple conversations. Embedding native memory directly into the model’s parameters is critical for the next leap in AI productivity. Unlike approaches that rely on external add-ons, Yan 2.0 can store and retrieve essential information natively, allowing interactions to become more natural and efficient. While Transformer-based models remain focused on solving the challenge of extended context windows, RockAI is already advancing to the next frontier: autonomous learning.

A robot dog equipped with the Yan 2.0 Preview large model featuring native memory capability

On this frontier path, “offline intelligence” is emerging as a crucial—yet often overlooked—capability. Most AI systems active in today’s market function as tools remotely controlled via the cloud: once disconnected from the network or central servers, they lose the ability to operate independently. Offline intelligence, by contrast, is akin to a biological brain—capable of sensing, deciding, and acting autonomously without external commands or connectivity. In a sense, the human brain itself is the ultimate example of offline intelligence.

The debate around “embodied intelligence” has grown increasingly heated in the AI community. Yet without offline intelligence as its foundation, embodied intelligence risks becoming little more than a buzzword. True embodied systems must be able to learn new tasks, remember past experiences, and adapt flexibly to unfamiliar environments—abilities that fundamentally depend on the capacity to “think for themselves” offline.

The native memory capabilities of RockAI’s Yan 2.0 Preview represent a decisive step toward offline intelligence. For the first time, a large model possesses “its own memory,” beginning to resemble a biological entity with the ability to learn and grow. This marks a turning point in the evolution of artificial intelligence: from a mere tool to a trusted companion, laying the technological foundation for a future that is more human-like and autonomous.

More broadly, companies such as Huawei, DeepSeek, and RockAI together form the mosaic of China’s digital strength—the “three driving forces” of the country’s tech innovation. Huawei provides the foundational infrastructure for the industry; DeepSeek pursues superior performance within internationally dominant frameworks; RockAI, meanwhile, is charting a radically different course by attempting architectural reinvention. Operating across distinct domains, they collectively build the moat of self-reliance in China’s digital innovation. Ultimately, technological autonomy breeds cultural confidence. When every chip, every transistor, and every line of code carries the imprint of “Made in China,” what goes global is not merely a collection of brands, but a generational symbol of independence, resilience, and relentless innovation. It is a form of cultural confidence more powerful than any slogan.

Made-in-China Chip

Image by Visual China

02

Key Technology Value: Relying on Real-World Application Scenarios to Expand Their Reach

As local brands venture collectively into the global market, they have all, coincidentally, focused on expanding their reach through real-world application scenarios. While people were busy creating memes about the robots performing the Yangge dance at the Spring Festival Gala, developer Unitree Robotics was already gearing up to receive international orders. Dressing in a flowery jacket and twirling a handkerchief—integrating precise control technology into the twisting Yangge dance—this was one of the scenarios Unitree Robotics created. In fact, from quadruped to humanoid robots, Unitree Robotics has long been striving to make its products the most prominent in tech circles. In 2023, its robot dog debuted at the Asian Games, seamlessly integrating motion control and dialogue models into real-world tasks, such as transporting the discus and javelin, quickly becoming a hit with international media. Just like this, Chinese robotics IP entered the international market, bringing a sudden surge in overseas orders.

Theories and models must ultimately leave the laboratory and undergo validation in real-world application scenarios. Technology empowers applications, while applications demonstrate the value of technology to people. At the 2025 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC), RockAI showcased the application value of offline intelligence in areas such as privacy and security, public welfare, and industrial upgrading. Among these, the AIPC developed in collaboration with a leading overseas brand highlights “offline usability,” enabling features like AI Meeting, AI Gallery, Voice Assistant, and Local Knowledge Base even without network connectivity. While AIPC may not have massive market demand in China, which has extensive network coverage, it precisely addresses the network infrastructure realities of countries and regions along the Belt and Road Initiative, providing solutions for application scenarios in developing countries. This year's WAIC theme—"Global Solidarity in the AI Era"—is fully embodied in this innovative application. Technology must ultimately adapt to needs, such as “low computational power” and “fully offline operation,” which represent technological advancements driven by real pain points in target markets. This reflects RockAI's founding mission: make every device its own intelligence.

RockAI's booth at the 2025 WAIC

Image provided by RockAI

The rise of offline intelligence marks a leap for artificial intelligence, moving from “network dependency” to “autonomous brains.” Precisely because it operates offline, it offers inherent advantages in privacy and security: data do not need to be uploaded to the cloud, allowing users' conversations, habits, and personal information to remain entirely on the device, significantly reducing the risk of leakage or misuse.

Moreover, offline intelligence delivers a smoother and more stable user experience. Even in environments with weak or no network connectivity, smart systems can still respond and make autonomous decisions without freezing or crashing. Low latency and high responsiveness are particularly crucial for scenarios such as smartphones, smart homes, in-vehicle devices, and even robots.

Native memory capabilities also enable truly personalized services. Generic responses are a thing of the past; instead, the system understands users' tone, preferences, and habits, and even proactively adjusts its style and suggestions over time. This builds a more private, secure, autonomous intelligent world that truly understands the users' thoughts.

The robotic hand equipped with the Yan 2.0 Preview large model can play games autonomously

In RockAI's vision, everyday devices—such as televisions, routers, cameras—can all possess their own intelligence, powered by large models that operate entirely offline and securely on the edge. While this concept may not yet be widely embraced, RockAI is gaining increasing recognition.

Ultimately, all technologies converge on real-world scenarios. Unitree Robotics has brought robots “out of the lab,” and RockAI has brought AI “out of the cloud.” Both are fundamentally redefining the value of real-world applications—shifting focus from theoretical technological advances to practical impact. Thus, the “Chinese solution” showcased in international markets reflects not only China's rapid innovation capabilities, but also a pragmatic and grounded core. The essence of “New Chinese Brands” innovation lies in the dual output of technology and culture.

03

The Chinese Way Abroad: From Constraints to Innovation

Before Ne Zha 2, it was hard to imagine a Chinese film reaching a box office of 15.4 billion yuan. With this number, the dark-circled “demon child” broke into the international market in one stroke—truly astonishing—and perhaps points to a new path for Chinese culture going global.

This can be seen as blazing a new trail, as Eastern narratives have historically struggled to capture global attention. Relying solely on traditional cultural themes makes it difficult for culturally distinct stories to break through internationally. Yet visuals built with proprietary 3D technology serve as a universally understood aesthetic language.

One can discern a similar “Chinese ingenuity” in the overseas strategies of these “New Chinese Brands.” For instance, Unitree Robotics stunned overseas markets with its robots’ cost-performance ratio: beyond high-quality functionality, they targeted university labs and tech enthusiasts with consumer-level pricing around 10,000 yuan, lowering barriers to entry. DeepSeek's meteoric rise, meanwhile, hinged on an open-source strategy that created an accessible ecosystem for global developers—treading a path others hadn’t imagined.

Meanwhile, the young enterprise RockAI, amid the fierce “Hundred-Model Battle,” chose not to fight in the crowded arena. Instead, it focused on non-Transformer architectures, pushing the boundaries of large-model applications and treading its own innovative path.

Image by Visual China

When it comes to innovation and transformation, there is never just one solution. Much like AI R&D, whether working within specific frameworks or taking on roles as “technological revolutionaries” or “algorithm optimizers,” RockAI and DeepSeek ultimately converge toward the same goal. Technical complementarity across different frameworks allows them to achieve excellence within existing structures while also forging independent paths. China's AI “twin blossoms” are quietly collaborating. These digital tech innovators are pursuing the same mission: jointly completing the puzzle of China’s digital capabilities and bringing ‘digital Chinese brands’ to every corner of the world.

Perhaps this reflects the state of Chinese technological innovation today. It involves building autonomous strength through core technological prowess, expanding the breadth of demand by understanding real-world scenarios, and identifying target markets with globally adaptable solutions—achieving dual output of technology and culture. Chinese tech companies are forming a digital technology community, breaking through barriers together to deliver technological and cultural confidence to the world. From Huawei chips to Unitree Robotics' robots, to AI enterprises with innovative architecture such as RockAI, China's technological breakthroughs have never been solitary efforts or battles over technical approaches. Instead, through coordinated strategies, they demonstrate that this is not merely a race of technology, but a collective breakthrough of China's innovative technological strength—embodying Chinese wisdom in the intelligent era and reflecting a “harmony in diversity” that transcends mere technology.