Albert Cheng

Opinion | Spurned by the West, China should still find friends in tycoons like Li Ka-shing

Patriotic tycoons like Li Ka-shing not only have substantial investments overseas but also vision. The US-led effort to stifle China’s technological development, now centred on resisting Huawei, cannot succeed if Beijing works with the business elite

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Li Ka-shing attends the Cheung Kong Group annual dinner in Hong Kong on January 11. Horizons Ventures, the investment arm of Li’s philanthropy foundation, has in the past few years been investing in innovative companies and disruptive technologies. Photo: Felix Wong

Albert Cheng

Published: 2:34am, 22 Feb 2019Updated: 5:13am, 22 Feb 2019

Behind the US-China trade war, the motive of US President Donald Trump is plain to see – repress technology and innovation development in China, as well as its “Made in China 2025” plan. Such hostile actions are being used for the simple reason that China is the only country that could challenge America’s status as the world’s leading technology superpower.

China has the capacity to challenge American domination of 5G development, arguably the hottest business in the technology industry. Otherwise, the US would not have deployed Mike Pence and Mike Pompeo, its vice-president and secretary of state respectively, to travel across the world and lobby its allies to boycott Huawei. It is not so much a national security move as a well-planned strategic act.

At a time when it is being isolated by many Western countries, the Chinese government is in need of support from some patriotic, powerful tycoons with foresight. One suitable candidate, among others, would be Li Ka-shing, Hong Kong’s richest man who owns significant investments in Europe.

Beijing should consider convincing these tycoons to collaborate with Huawei, not for any political reasons or because of any threats from the West, but simply for its business value. This is the most effective strategy for China to withstand the enormous pressure from around the world.

In fact, Horizons Ventures, the investment arm of Li’s philanthropy foundation headed by Solina Chau, has in the past few years been investing in innovative companies and disruptive technologies. The company has set its sights on various start-ups all over the world, including in Silicon Valley and Israel, that other investors would have overlooked.

Now that the Hong Kong government is shouldering an important role in the financial and technological development of the Greater Bay Area, it should leverage Horizons Ventures’ head start in the field.