That is so TRUE! DeepSeek is a natural outcome of the US pushing Chinese talent out, with policies like Trump’s 10043.

I’m actually one of the people directly affected—I got a PhD offer from Stanford a few years ago but was denied a US visa. So instead, I went to another ‘Ford’—Oxford—and honestly, I’m really happy here.

It's a clear observation before 2020 Trump introduced anti-Chinese student policies, top students from the best universities, like Tsinghua, were all competing to get into US schools. It was a big deal to flex how many Ivy League offers you got. But after 2020, as these policies took effect, top students gradually lost interest in the US and started choosing to stay for PhDs or go to leading tech/trade companies. Actually the 10043 policy was only aimed at 8 top engineering universities in China. But all students could already sense the hostility and started worrying about their safety and the respect they’d get in the US. Since then, getting a US university offer hasn’t been something to be proud of anymore.

China has an insanely high talent density—they're smart as hell with a strong work ethic. The US is shutting them out while hyping up clowns like Alexandr Wang. And now, the idea of the US trying to import DeepSeek researchers is pretty naive—why would these top scientists even consider moving when they’re already earning top salaries and doing the most fulfilling work of their careers? The real smart move would’ve been to bring in unproven but high-potential talent early on and let DeepSeek happen inside the US.

Running a country might not be that different from running a tech company—stay open, win, and earn respect, or close off and watch the next competitor rise.