隨著與美國的緊張局勢飆升，中國科技企業家熱衷於“去中國化” (2/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to 'de-China' as tensions with US soar (2/2)

Tue, May 30, 2023 at 4:03 p.m. PDT

By David Kirton

(continue)

BECOMING LESS CHINESE

But even if expanding into the United States has become that much harder, it is still the end goal for most of the entrepreneurs Reuters spoke to. Focusing on the domestic market is hardly an attractive option despite its size, they added.

A two-year regulatory crackdown on China's once-freewheeling technology sector from late 2020 - which overlapped with draconian zero-COVID curbs during the pandemic - has led to their disillusionment with China under Xi Jinping.

"Everything changed during the pandemic," said entrepreneur Wilson, who began looking for ways to move his software startup abroad after Xi won an unprecedented third term last year.

He said that while it was not impossible to do business from China, distrust between Washington and Beijing had become such that "it's easier for my employees, for my shareholders, if I'm out."

China's State Council of Information Office (SCIO) and foreign ministry did not respond to requests for comment on efforts by some entrepreneurs to move abroad or their expressions of disillusionment with China.

Firms looking to rebase offshore and even "de-China" in terms of company identity have become a trend, said Shenzhen-based Chris Pereira, who runs business consulting firm North American Ecosystem Institute.

Companies that have visibly de-emphasised their Chinese identity include online fast-fashion retailer Shein which has made a Singapore firm its de facto holding company. In early May, e-commerce firm PDD Holdings moved its headquarters from Shanghai to Dublin.

Shein declined to comment and PDD did not respond to a request for comment.

So far this year, Pereira's firm has had around 100 inquiries from mainland companies seeking help to expand abroad. Pereira said he advises many on how to effectively localise overseas and become part of a community as opposed to just masking their Chinese identity.

The entrepreneurs said they were unconvinced by Beijing's expressions of support for private business owners and were worried about the loss of civic freedoms. Being ambitious in China also often entails cultivating ties with the Chinese Communist Party - a step they are reluctant to take, some of them also said.

Tommy, another entrepreneur, has moved abroad from China, dispirited after government censorship requests concerning his product became too frequent and intrusive, leading him to shut down the business.

The SCIO did not respond to a request for comment on how censorship affects businesses in China.

Tommy is now setting up a new startup and eventually would like to move to the United States - that's despite having been questioned at length by U.S. customs officials as to why he had a U.S. bank account when on a recent business trip there.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency did not respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by David Kirton; Additional reporting by Eduardo Baptista in Beijing and Casey Hall in Shanghai; Editing by Brenda Goh and Edwina Gibbs)

(continue)

減低中國化

但即使向美國擴張變得更加困難，這仍然是路透社採訪的大多數企業家的最終目標。 他們補充說，儘管國內市場規模龐大，但專注於國內市場並不是一個有吸引力的選擇。

從 2020 年末開始，對中國一度自由發揮的科技行業進行了為期兩年的監管打擊 - 與大流行期間嚴厲的零 COVID 遏制措施重疊 - 導致他們對習近平領導下的中國幻想破滅。

企業家 Wilson 說: “在病毒大流行期間一切都變了”,  他在習近平去年贏得史無前例的第三個任期後，開始尋找將他的軟件初創公司轉移到國外的方法。

他說，雖然從中國做生意並非不可能，但華盛頓和北京之間的不信任已經變得如此嚴重，以至於“如果我不在，對我的員工、對我的股東來說會更好做事”。

中國國務院新聞辦公室（SCIO）和外交部沒有回應就一些企業家的出國努力,或對中國失望的表達發表評論的請求。

常駐深圳以經營諮詢公司北美生態系統研究所 的 Chris Pereira  說, 尋求在公司離岸重新定位, 甚至“去中國化”已成為一種趨勢。

晰清地不再強調其中國身份的公司包括在線快時尚零售商 Shein，該公司已將一家新加坡公司作為其實質上的控股公司。 5 月初，電子商務公司 PDD Holdings 將其總部從上海遷至都柏林。

Shein 拒絕置評，PDD 也沒有回應置評請求。

今年到目前為止，Pereira 的公司已經收到了大約 100 份來自大陸公司的諮詢，希望幫助他們向海外擴張。 Pereira's說，他建議許多人如何有效地在海外本地化, 並成為社區的一部分，而不是僅僅掩蓋他們的中國身份。

這些企業家表示，他們不相信北京對私營企業擁有者的支持，並擔心公民自由的喪失。 在中國要雄心勃勃，往往還需要培養與中國共產黨的關係 - 他們中的一些人還表示，這不是他們願意採取的步驟。

另一位企業家Tommy已經從中國移居國外，因為政府對其產品的審查請求變得過於頻繁和侵擾，導致他關閉了公司，因此感到沮喪。

SCIO 沒有回應就審查制度如何影響中國企業發表評論的請求。

Tommy現在正在建立一家新的初創公司，並最終想搬到美國 - 儘管美國海關官員對他最近在美國出差時為何擁有美國銀行賬戶進行了長時間的質詢。

美國海關和邊境保護局沒有回應置評請求。

So, some entrepreneurs in China were unconvinced by Beijing's expressions of support for private business owners and were worried about the loss of civic freedoms. Some firms were looking to rebase offshore and even to "de-China" in terms of company identity. I am wondering how this trend will affect the business environment in China.