China’s tech industry enters a new year after weathering unprecedented turbulence in 2019, when giants emerged in social media and artificial intelligence only to bear the brunt of Washington’s campaign to contain the world’s number two economy.
There's little reason to think 2020 will be much different given US efforts to hobble Chinese champions from Huawei to SenseTime that have been deemed a threat to national security.
American lawmakers went after some of the country's biggest names last year. Foremost among them were smartphone and networking titan Huawei and the owner of the popular TikTok social media entertainment, ByteDance, which has drawn in more than a billion-plus mainly younger users in the US.
The heightened scrutiny came just as pressure back home intensified.
Investors cooled on the sector with venture capital activity halving - triggering fears the industry's heyday is over. That in turn demoralised the country's already-overworked tech professionals, who rebelled for the first time against the 70-plus hour workweeks that Alibaba-founder Jack Ma labelled the norm.
Given Washington’s increasing hostility, China is now even more driven to devise alternatives to foreign technology - from AI chips to blockchain solutions - while propping up local champions. This spells bad news for the likes of Qualcomm and Apple that depend on China for much of their revenue. It’s also started to upend a decades-old supply chain centred around China, threatening to split the old world order in two.
The industry’s woes may be best quantified by a plunge in capital flow. The amount of venture money invested plummeted by more than 50 per cent to about $50 billion (Dh183.5bn) from a record $112bn in 2018, when China's technology sector attracted more cash than the US, according to the market research firm Preqin. VC funding dropped in the US too, but only slightly.
China birthed only 15 unicorns, or start-ups worth at least $1bn, down from 35 the year before, according to CB Insights.
The plummet coincided with a loss of confidence in some of the global industry's marquee names, exemplified by the rocky debuts of WeWork and Uber Technologies. While Alibaba raised $13bn in a milestone Hong Kong offering, smaller names like SenseTime and Full Truck Alliance struggled to attract new funds.
"The power of the mobile revolution is coming to an end. Globally, we are seeking what comes next," said Kai-Fu Lee, founder of Sinovation Ventures.
The start-up and VC industry looks likely to be heading for a shakeout. Many investments made in recent years aren’t panning out, with start-ups struggling to live up to their valuations. Fundraising by China-focused venture firms fell by about 50 per cent to about $13bn, according to Preqin.
James Hull, a Beijing-based analyst and portfolio manager, said there’s a sense that the “easy stuff” in China’s internet start-up scene is done. Mr Hull expects the next hot wave might come from the enterprise sector.
“But I don’t think that will play out as well because B2B is difficult -- the selling is difficult.”
For Huawei, 2019 kicked off with the chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou under home arrest in Vancouver, fighting extradition to the US. Then the Trump administration tightened its grip on China’s largest tech company in May, banning it from buying some components and software from American tech giants including Intel and Google.
Throughout 2019, Washington pushed allies to halt purchases of Huawei-made fifth-generation telecom gear, accusing the company of aiding Chinese espionage. The company disputed these claims but that didn’t stop Japan, Australia and New Zealand from blocking Huawei from 5G projects.
The most immediate repercussions lie with its smartphone
business. New Huawei models introduced on overseas markets will be devoid of must-have Android apps like Google Maps and Gmail.
In response, Huawei stepped up efforts to become more self-
reliant, mobilising its 190,000 employees to develop in-house
alternatives and unveiling a potential Android surrogate dubbed
Harmony OS.
The tumult forced reclusive Huawei billionaire founder Ren Zhengfei into the media spotlight to defend his company, lash
out at the US and expound on his company's efforts to lead the
coming 5G revolution. Huawei may have survived the first wave but it's likely that the real pain will come in 2020.
China's tech boom over the past decade birthed twin giants Alibaba and Tencent, a duo that effectively control almost every aspect of the country's internet through their sprawling business empires and vast investment portfolios. But from 2019, a new generation of tech darlings rose to the fore and now challenge their forebears.
Foremost among them is ByteDance, the world's most valuable start-up. After its first breakout hit, news app Toutiao, the Chinese company is rocking youths the world over with TikTok.
It has been downloaded about 1.45 billion times since launching, but has become a lightning rod for criticism as tensions rise between the US and China. From Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg to a growing coterie of lawmakers, prominent Americans warn that user data may wind up in Chinese government hands. ByteDance has repeatedly denied that could happen.
The year will see ByteDance try to extend its tentacles into a panoply of fields. It’s testing a paid music app in emerging markets to challenge the likes of Apple Music and Spotify. It’s looking to make video games to tackle Tencent on its home turf. Other rising contenders include Tencent-backed super app Meituan and AI leader SenseTime.
Meituan, which displaced Baidu as China’s third-most valuable tech firm last year, will continue to battle Alibaba in nascent areas from food delivery to online travel. For SenseTime and fellow domestic AI pioneers such as Megvii Technology, the challenge will be grappling with US sanctions that threaten to crimp their fledgling businesses.
"China tech is going global, going mainstream and shaking things up more than ever," said Rebecca Fannin, founder of technology consultancy Silicon Dragon. "More US startups will follow China business models."
China's position as factory for the world of technology is in jeopardy. The (mainly Taiwanese) assemblers of the world's electronics are exploring options beyond China to varying degrees.
From Inventec to Foxconn and Quanta Computer, the makers of everything from iPhones to Dell laptops have either moved production back to Taiwan or to further-flung regions around Asia, seeking to escape US tariffs. The idea is that, even if Washington and Beijing strike a trade deal, diversification is essential in the longer term given tensions are unlikely to subside and labour costs will rise.
Even leading Chinese hardware suppliers recognise the risks. Luxshare Precision Industry has invested in Vietnam and established a unit in India, while Goertek has begun making Apple’s popular AirPods earbuds in Vietnam.
Taken together, the collective exodus spells the start of the end of a system that’s served the world’s leading electronics brands well since the 1980s.
Last year forced Chinese tech workers to come to terms with the new reality. Many had taken jobs with start-ups in the hope of cashing in when they debut or get bought. But as that deal-making streak cooled, the prospect of working long hours – 12 hours per day, six days a week – lost much of its appeal
In March, Chinese programmers on GitHub put together a list of companies known for short-changing their employees on overtime.
That post spurred a greater awareness of the human cost of China's tech boom.
In December, Huawei drew widespread condemnation when a former employee who had been detained for 251 days after the company reported him to police for alleged extortion was released without charge.
One thing is clear - the Chinese tech arena, long regarded as an alternate reality to a US app-dominated world, will move further away from its American counterpart. And some of its biggest players will seek to extend their influence overseas, as they've done from Africa to Southeast Asia.
"What's changed is the trade war, the talk of decoupling," said Paul Triolo, head of global technology policy at Eurasia Group.
“This has really galvanised the authorities. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they will be more successful. But they’re determined.”
