Good evening. Despite all the hullabaloo surrounding TikTok, several other Chinese-backed short video apps are making waves in the U.S. right now. As our cover story this week explains, the trend is part of a larger phenomenon among Chinese companies to ‘go global’ — a kind of ‘go out’ version 2.0. Elsewhere, we have a reported piece on America’s own military-civil fusion fair: the AI Expo for National Competitiveness, which took Washington by storm last week; infographics on China’s fintech footprint in Africa; an interview with former ambassador Gary Locke on family and trade ties with China; and an op-ed by Nancy Qian about what TikTok got wrong about America. If you’re not already a paid subscriber to The Wire, please sign up here.
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China Goes Global — Again
Chinese companies have decided that the best place to make money right now is outside of China. The phenomenon known as chu hai (出海), which translates to “go global,” has taken hold, marking a kind of second ‘go out’ initiative. This time, however, Chinese companies are being met with scrutiny and suspicion. Yi Liu reports.
What Happened At America’s Own Military-Civil Fusion Fair
The hot topic at a major D.C. conference this week was how the government and companies can cooperate in areas like AI to counter China’s threat. Katrina Northrop reports on the scene at the AI Expo for National Competitiveness.
The Big Picture: China’s Fintech Footprint in Africa
Instead of visiting a bank, Nigerians who need to move money are now just as likely to visit a street market and speak to an agent working for OPay, a Chinese-backed fintech company. This week’s infographics by Aaron Mc Nicholas look at the path OPay took to becoming a leading digital payments system in Nigeria and how its experience fits in with the grander strategy behind Chinese investment in African fintech.
A Q&A with Gary Locke
Gary Locke’s career tracks the rise of the U.S. policy of engagement with China. The child and grandchild of Chinese immigrants, Locke was the first Chinese-American elected governor of Washington in 1996. In 2009, he was President Obama’s pick as Commerce Secretary where he invited business groups to travel with him on export missions to China. From 2011 to 2014, he was ambassador to China, where his informal manner — and Chinese background — was the source of much discussion on Chinese websites. He is now an attorney at Dorsey & Whitney. In this interview with Bob Davis — part of our ‘Rules of Engagement’ series — he talks about how his background shaped his approach to dealing with Beijing, the pivot to Asia and why he remains committed to working with Beijing.
Gary Locke
Illustration by Kate Copeland
What TikTok Got Wrong About America
In this week’s op-ed, Nancy Qian argues that, given the arrogance TikTok exhibited in the weeks and months leading up to its ban, the company’s leadership clearly has a fundamental misunderstanding of America and Americans.
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