Gavekal Technologies: Briefing
Laila Khawaja, Tom Hancock, Damien Ma
15 Dec 2025
In 2025, the world learned to take China’s tech power seriously: the DeepSeek moment, the increased dominance of Chinese electric vehicles, a biotech boom and a trade surplus of over US$1trn all went to show that China is now a technological leader. Yet just as many used to underestimate China’s tech prowess, we are now at risk of exaggerating it. China’s strengths are real, but not unlimited. The theme of our final Briefing for this year is the constraints on Chinese technology power, in semiconductors, new energy and a wide range of sectors where catch-up is slow and global incumbents still enjoy many advantages.