Chinese tech hub Shenzhen becomes key trade war battleground as US strikes at Huawei, its ‘dragon’s head’
- As home to some of the country’s biggest exporters and tech firms, including Tencent and ZTE, few other places in China are more exposed to Washington’s tariffs
- No company is more important to the city than Huawei, which has been hit by a range of US sanctions that could have a profound knock-on effect
In the restaurants and coffee shops at the heart of southern China’s hi-tech powerhouse the main topics of conversation have shifted from industry gossip such as IPOs, mergers and innovations to the trade war with the US and Washington’s campaign against Huawei.
So all-consuming has the topic become in Yuehai – the western district of Shenzhen that houses the social media giant Tencent, telecoms maker ZTE and drone maker DJI – that locals joke that it seems more like a trade war between the US and the city, or even the district, itself.
Over the past 40 years, Shenzhen has been transformed from a sleepy fishing village just across the border from Hong Kong to a city of more than 12 million people where the hi-tech sector accounts for just over a third of its gross domestic product.
Given the importance of the sector, many are now waking up to the possible impact the trade war will have on its future.
One tech firm employee, who only gave his surname Lin, said: “The trade war will have a lasting impact, including on sales and the entire market.”
Another resident, who works at an internet company, said he was starting to be concerned about whether his company’s products or sales strategy would be affected.
