Huawei

In a recent internal memo, Huawei founder Ren Zhengfei did not beat around the bush in warning of the dire global economic situation. Zaobao associate editor Han Yong Hong notes that Ren is merely being candid about what has already been iterated by heads of states and economic experts. Amid a war in Europe, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical tensions and domestic economic troubles, can China hope for a recovery in the foreseeable future?

China’s Big Fund has come under scrutiny following a series of high-profile corruption investigations involving key persons in the chip industry. The CHIPS Act was also recently signed into law in the US to counter China, which makes things even more difficult for the sector. Zaobao correspondent Chen Jing speaks to industry experts to find out how the Big Fund can come out of this crisis.

In the second of a seven-part Lianhe Zaobao-Business Times series on China and ASEAN, Zaobao senior correspondent Chew Boon Leong looks at the strategies adopted and challenges faced by China’s tech companies in Southeast Asia.

An alleged ban of Tesla cars from Beidaihe, the site of Communist Party leaders’ annual retreat, shows the fangs behind the smiles in the Chinese government’s attitude towards US company Tesla. Lianhe Zaobao’s China Desk has the analysis.

Huawei has long denied that it will enter the auto manufacturing industry. Instead, the company has emphasised its partnership with automakers to build autonomous driving technology. However, since the launch of a luxury electric SUV, the M5, the market has begun speculating whether Huawei’s stance on the auto business has changed.

Huawei’s digital talent programme in Indonesia is contributing to China’s soft power as the latter seeks to engage Indonesia as an important node of its Belt and Road Initiative. Indonesia stands to gain from the exchange but also needs to be wary of possible cybersecurity concerns.

Unlike the Soviet Union, China has an arsenal of economic tools at its disposal in wooing US allies. This is plainly seen in the UAE-China relationship, in which bilateral trade in 2021 was more than double that of UAE-US trade for the same period. Security and defence ties are also strengthening. As dictated by the laws of the free market, the one who offers the best deal wins. As such, the US will have to do better than just rely on coercive tactics.

Zaobao correspondent Yang Danxu notes that Lenovo’s aborted bid to get listed on Shanghai’s STAR Market is telling of it being held back by a lack of R&D and innovation. Is this emblematic of other companies in China’s manufacturing industry who went for low-hanging fruits in the early days instead of planning for long-term technological development?

Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou returned to China over the weekend to much fanfare. The swift end to this incident after almost three years and the release of two Canadians who had been detained in China point to political machinations behind the scenes. Is this ending just a stalemate running its course or does it signify a restart of China-US and China-Canada relations?