DeepSeek's next AI model delayed by attempt to use Chinese chips
August 14, 2025 21:57 JST
BEIJING/HONG KONG (Financial Times) -- Chinese artificial intelligence company DeepSeek delayed the release of its new model after failing to train it using Huawei's chips, highlighting the limits of Beijing's push to replace U.S. technology.

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One Belt, One Road, One Chilean Headache
Chile's next president will have to decide how to handle growing Chinese investment in Chile's critical resources. On November 16, Chile will elect a new president who will lead the nation until 2030. Presidential candidates – including the Communist Party of Chile's Jeanette Jara representing the left-wing Unity for Chile coalition, and the incumbent, President José Antonio Kast, for the conservative Republican Party – will have to present policies tackling domestic issues such as dwindling birthrates and rising crime. But one of the most important foreign policy areas for this election will be China's growing investments in Chile's weakened critical mineral and transportation sector. Already, China controls approximately two-thirds of Chile's energy sector through mainly financial acquisitions of companies operating in the region. Also, as of 2023, China bought just under 40 percent of Chilean exports. The next largest export destination – the United States – was well behind, accounting for just 15 percent of Chile's total exports. As of 2024, Chile and China's bilateral trade was worth an estimated $37.8 billion. That year, Chile's exports to China were primarily made up of minerals – at $27.95 billion, representing almost 75 percent of total trade. Of these minerals, the most prominent is copper, with Chile exporting $5.5 billion worth of copper to China. Chile holds an estimated 23 percent of the world's reserves in copper, and as of 2024 produced 24 percent of the world's copper, signifying the importance of China as a stable buyer. In 2005, China's Minmetal Corporation signed a 50-50 joint venture with Codelco, Chile's state-owned copper producer, for $550 million. This venture would ensure China with 55,000 tons of copper for more than 15 years. In other projects not owned by China, Chinese banks have provided investment. In 2021, the Collahuasi mine signed a $1 billion syndicate loan from 17 banks, including three from China: the Bank of China, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and China Construction Bank. Together the three banks provided $71.43 million for the mine. Similarly, in 2021, the Bank of China also provided $38.11 million of a $571.6 million syndicate loan used for the expansion of the Mantoverde copper mine. Mantoverde – which is not owned by China – produces an estimated 120,000 tonnes of copper per year. Chile also plays a significant role in lithium mining. As of 2023, Chile was the world's second largest producer of lithium, accounting for 25 percent of global production. Here, too, Chinese firms have been actively investing. In 2018, Tianqi Lithium Corporation purchased 23.77 percent of the Chilean lithium mining company Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile (SQM) from the Canadian company Nutrien. Tianqi paid $4 billion for the shares and has since held the second-largest stake in SQM (Pampa Group is the largest shareholder, with 26 percent). An agreement signed in May 2024 gives SQM the responsibility of producing refined lithium in Salar de Atacama from 2025 to 2060. Furthermore, in 2023, China's Tsingshan Holding Group and BYD planned to invest $233.2 million setting up a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) plant, operational by May 2025. Chile hoped this project would produce 120,000 tons of LFP per year. However, in 2025, the Chinese partners withdrew from those plans for unknown reasons. Also, in 2025, BYD delayed plans for a lithium cathode plant worth $290 million, with the capacity of producing 50,000 tons of LFP per year. Observers think the project is likely to be canceled. Even with the recent issues involving lithium projects, China may have more opportunity to invest due to the weakened state of Chile's Codelco, the state-owned mining company that is a critical player in Chilean copper and lithium. As reported in December 2024, Codelco's debt has ballooned to over $20 billion with production hitting a historic 25-year low in 2022. Beyond the mining sector, China is having a significant – albeit indirect – impact on Chile's transportation sector. Chile's largest port, the Port of Valparaíso handles 11.5 million tons of cargo a year. In 2024, Valparaíso exported 31 percent of its cargo to Asia – primarily China. Chile has plans to expand the port, which is owned by the state company EMPORCHI, including adding cargo terminals, extending cruise terminals, and expanding the flow of cargo ships. The goal is for the port to maintain competitiveness with the region. And the competition is fierce following the inauguration of the Chinese-built Chancay port in Peru. Chancay's rise may cut into the traffic heading for Chilean ports like Valparaiso. The new 'Chancay Express' connects the Chilean ports of Lirquen and San Antonio to Peru's port. Essentially, the route allows for Chilean goods to be shipped to China via Peru's Pacific coast, reducing shipping times from 35 days to 23 and cutting costs by 30 percent. Unlike Chilean ports, Chancay can handle Ultra Large Container Vessels (ULCVs) which means it has a double advantage: it can handle much more cargo on top of having shorter travel time to Beijing. For Beijing, it is clear Chancay is a vital transit hub not just for Peru but for all of Latin America. In addition to the Chancay Express linking Chile to Peru, China has revitalized negotiation for a trans-oceanic railway that would carry cargo from Brazil to Chancay. China's economic activity in Chile is thus a double-edged sword. 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Given China's track record of investing in Chile's natural resources, Chinese firms would likely be keen to take part in the bidding. On the other hand, Jara opposes the deal between Codelco and SQM, instead calling for a new public company to aid in developing lithium resources. Codelco is a copper-mining company, and Jara aims to create a new state-owned firm playing a similar role for lithium resources. That would have implications for China, given its minority stake in SQM. On foreign policy specifically, Jara has emphasized 'not wanting Chile subordinated to foreign government or external models' and emphasizes human rights. She has made no explicit statements about China in this regard. Instead, Jara noted that her foreign policy goal is diversification of trade and multilateralism, focusing on expanding ties with China, India, and Latin America. However, Kast, the incumbent president, has been strongly aligned with Western powers. 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