As of July 9, 2025: Asia’s AI Economic Race—How China, Japan, South Korea & ASEAN Are Leading the Charge

 

As of July 9, 2025: Asia’s AI Economic Race—How China, Japan, South Korea & ASEAN Are Leading the Charge

Introduction

Asia’s AI landscape is evolving at breakneck speed, driven by groundbreaking open-source models, hefty infrastructure investments, and supportive policy frameworks. Leaders from China to Southeast Asia are recalibrating strategies to harness the economic potential of artificial intelligence while managing geopolitical and trade uncertainties. At the Reuters NEXT Asia summit, global decision-makers emphasized that responsible and scalable AI adoption will hinge on robust data centers, regulatory clarity, and cross-border cooperation ReutersReuters. Against a backdrop of varying national priorities—from super-charging research and development to shoring up semiconductor supply chains—today’s snapshot captures the top AI-related economic headlines for China, Japan, South Korea, and ASEAN as of July 9, 2025.

China

China is asserting its AI ambitions on the world stage through both open-source innovation and strategic economic planning. The release of DeepSeek’s R1 model—offered royalty-free and with full code transparency—has rattled entrenched proprietary players by delivering enterprise-grade performance without licensing fees 알 자지라. Simultaneously, Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission is refining early-warning economic indicators and easing select tech import restrictions to underpin AI ecosystem resilience for the next five-year plan (2026–2030). This initiative underscores a dual approach: leveraging self-reliant AI research while maintaining monitored openness to global collaboration, thereby solidifying China’s push toward technological sovereignty and economic modernization Asia Cable.

Japan

In Tokyo, private and public sectors are converging to build “artificial super intelligence” platforms and next-generation AI infrastructure. SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son has declared an ambition to transform his conglomerate into the world’s leading AI platform provider within a decade—a move that would position Japan at the forefront of the “winner-takes-all” dynamics seen in cloud and AI services Reuters. Complementing this private drive, Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) launched ABCI 3.0 in January 2025, delivering peak performance of 6.22 exaflops to accelerate generative AI research across academia and industry. This represents a 7–13× compute boost over its predecessor, marking a major upgrade in the nation’s scientific computing backbone arXiv.

South Korea

Seoul is doubling down on AI chip production and data-center capacity to maintain its semiconductor edge. Recent reports signal a 39% year-on-year profit decline at Samsung Electronics, attributed largely to weak AI chip sales—an early indicator of volatile demand in the AI hardware market Reuters. To counterbalance this softness, SK Group and Amazon Web Services have unveiled a joint investment of approximately USD 5.11 billion for the construction of South Korea’s largest AI data center in Ulsan. Slated to begin in September 2025 and ramp up to one gigawatt of power, the facility is designed to anchor the country’s status as a global AI hub and stabilize long-term demand for locally produced AI accelerators Reuters.

Southeast Asia (ASEAN)

Across the ASEAN bloc, economic ministers are calling for deeper intra-regional trade integration to underpin burgeoning digital economies. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim urged fellow ASEAN members to fortify regional supply chains and digital infrastructure, warning that unilateral tariffs risk fragmenting markets and stalling AI-driven growth Reuters. Meanwhile, Singapore’s Temasek reported a record portfolio value of S$434 billion—fueled in part by strategic stakes in AI infrastructure firms such as Nvidia, Databricks, and a Microsoft-BlackRock consortium. With nearly one-quarter of its assets in U.S. equities and a growing 18% exposure to China, Temasek plans to prioritize investments in resilient, high-growth AI ventures that can weather geopolitical headwinds Reuters.

Conclusion

Today’s AI economic headlines highlight a common theme: Asia’s major economies are rapidly scaling compute capacity, nurturing homegrown innovation, and seeking collaborative frameworks to sustain growth. From DeepSeek’s open-source disruption in China to Japan’s ABCI 3.0 supercomputer, and from South Korea’s multi-billion-dollar data-center projects to ASEAN’s push for integrated digital markets, policymakers and corporations alike recognize that AI investment is now a strategic imperative. As the region navigates trade tensions and supply-chain realignments, the coming months will be decisive in shaping Asia’s position in the global AI economy.