While Donald Trump used U.S. export controls on technology as leverage to gain access to China’s rare earth supply, Beijing showcased its ability to advance without America’s most cutting-edge semiconductors.

During a state-organized tour this month to Jiangsu and Zhejiang—two of China’s wealthiest provinces and home to the firm DeepSeek—authorities introduced several tech executives to journalists from Bloomberg News and other media outlets.

The core message was one of resilience: China’s tech industry remains determined to become a global leader despite American restrictions.

An example is Magiclab Robotics Technology Co, a company based in Suzhou and established less than a year ago. Its president, Wu Changzheng, claimed that the firm independently produces over 90% of the components for its humanoid robots. The remainder, including semiconductors and microcontrollers, is sourced both domestically and internationally. Wu emphasized that none of their chips are American.

"China has very few weaknesses in this sector," Wu said while presenting a human-sized robot designed for factory floors. He dismissed Trump’s recent ban on U.S. software for chip design, noting that his robots only require "standard chips."

Over the five-day tour, which included firms from biopharmaceuticals, humanoid robotics, AI, and the automotive sector, many entrepreneurs stressed self-reliance—an ideal deeply embedded in President Xi Jinping’s vision for industrial supremacy. Many in China’s business world have rallied behind Xi amid Trump-era tariffs and expanded U.S. export controls.

Such access to multiple executives is rare for foreign media in a country where press is heavily regulated and corporate officials are often hesitant to speak freely out of fear of repercussions.

This tech-focused tour illustrated Beijing’s intent to restore global investor confidence in its US$19 trillion economy, which has been shaken by property market turmoil, deflation, and record-high U.S. tariffs.

Despite DeepSeek’s surprise AI breakthrough earlier this year—achieved under limited chip access—China still struggles to match U.S. capabilities, lacking access to Nvidia’s most advanced chips.

Throughout the press tour, the government mainly highlighted firms that do not rely on high-end chips, such as AISpeech Co, which makes AI-powered in-car audio-visual tools. But for companies working on autonomous driving or artificial general intelligence (AGI)—technologies with human-like cognitive functions—top-tier chips remain crucial.

Avoiding sensitive topics like government subsidies, the eight executives who spoke downplayed the effect of America’s long-standing technology clampdown, stressing the nation’s growing independence. Government officials listened attentively during the journey.

Executives emphasized local advantages they believe are resistant to external shocks, such as a vast talent pool and closed-loop supply chains.

Yu Kai, co-founder and chief scientific officer of AISpeech, stated that the company now employs over 700 staff across research hubs in Beijing and Suzhou, growing from a small team of under 10 who developed algorithms in Cambridge. The firm has a subsidiary in Shenzhen, near smart-tool manufacturing centers, and runs a southern China unit producing car software for local automakers.

Reflecting Beijing’s growing concerns over U.S. tech restrictions, Xi recently curbed rare earth exports in response to Trump’s latest measures. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick confirmed last week that the U.S. and China signed an agreement in Geneva formalizing trade commitments, including Beijing’s promise to supply rare earths used in wind turbines and jet engines.

Economic resilience was a recurring theme on the tour, which began in Nanjing—where researchers publish three times more scientific papers than in New York. Journalists traveled by bus and high-speed rail to Suzhou and Zhejiang, with the spotlight shifting to green technology development.

Debate continues in China over the importance of accessing advanced chip-making machines and Nvidia’s top AI accelerators. Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei recently said Chinese firms can adopt methods like chip stacking to match high-end performance. Beijing has also restricted access to many U.S. AI services, allowing local players to avoid direct competition with American tech giants.

China must project "confidence and capability," said Julian Mueller-Kaler of the Stimson Center in Washington, after years under tech restrictions. High-end AI data center chips can be swapped with less capable ones, albeit at higher energy costs, he noted.

"One reason China didn’t strongly retaliate to past chip bans is because, to some extent, it welcomed them," he said. "It forced domestic companies to build independent capabilities and reduce reliance on U.S. tech—a long-standing political objective previously hindered by economic constraints."

Still, despite the showcase, few companies remain untouched by deteriorating U.S.-China ties. Some executives admitted to feeling the financial squeeze from Trump’s "America First" policy limiting U.S. investment in China’s tech sector.

"The funding impact is severe," said Zhang Jinhua, chairman of IASO Biotechnology Co, which develops life-saving cancer treatments. "I’ve told my team to stop asking when this winter ends. We must treat winter as one of the four seasons and adapt to prolonged uncertainty."