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” (1/2)

Recently Yahoo News on-line reported the following:

Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to 'de-China' as tensions with US soar (1/2)

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

By David Kirton

SHENZHEN, China (Reuters) - For the ambitious Chinese tech entrepreneur, expanding into the U.S. just keeps getting harder.

Before 2019, there were few major impediments to having a Chinese company that did business in the U.S. from China. But amid escalating U.S.-Sino trade tensions, particularly after Washington slapped sanctions on telecom giant Huawei, some Chinese firms began setting up headquarters overseas - moves that could help them draw less U.S. government attention.

Now, some mainland China tech business owners say they need to go further and gain permanent residency or citizenship abroad to avoid the curbs on and the biases against Chinese companies in the United States.

Shenzhen-based Ryan, who declined to give his family name due to fear of reprisals in China, says his three-year-old software startup has reached the point where it would be natural to expand in the U.S. - the world's biggest economy. His firm already has a million users in East Asia and a strong base in North America.

But he's dismayed by the U.S.-China trade spats and the restrictions on a growing number of Chinese companies that have been imposed, or are being proposed, by U.S. lawmakers.

"It's very unfair," he said, lamenting that competitors from other countries did not face similar issues when trying to expand into the United States.

"We feel a lot like the filling sandwiched in the middle of a biscuit."

His solution? He's trying to gain permanent residency in another Asian country.

Reuters spoke to seven tech entrepreneurs from mainland China, most of them educated overseas, who would like to expand their businesses in the United States. All are trying to gain permanent residency or citizenship elsewhere, with most exploring a range of options including Hong Kong, Canada, Japan, the United States and Singapore.

Of the seven entrepreneurs, three agreed to be identified by their English first names only while the others requested complete anonymity, all citing concerns about repercussions within China. They also asked that their businesses not be described in detail.

COLDER SHOULDERS

While U.S.-China tensions may have been given new impetus under the Trump administration which levied tariffs broadly and imposed sanctions on Huawei, the friction has continued unabated under President Joe Biden as both countries vie for global tech pre-eminence.

Major flashpoints include U.S. export curbs on chips and data security concerns that have seen ByteDance-owned TikTok banned on U.S. government devices and altogether by the state of Montana. For its part, China recently blocked key industries from using Micron Technology products and has sought to rein in foreign consultancies and due diligence firms.

Geopolitical tensions have meant a far less friendly atmosphere for mainland Chinese companies wanting to operate or gain funding in the United States, the entrepreneurs and consultants say.

"The political narrative in Washington DC and in many state capitals is based on the misconception that all Chinese companies are intertwined with and taking direction from the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party," says James McGregor, chairman for Greater China at U.S. communications consultancy APCO Worldwide.

The U.S. Commerce Department did not respond to a request for comment on attitudes towards Chinese companies within the United States.

China's foreign ministry said in a statement that some Western countries want to "politicize technology, putting up obstacles to regular technology and trade cooperation, which benefits neither side, and adversely affects global technological advancement and economic growth."

(to be continued)

中國深圳（路透社）- 對於雄心勃勃的中國科技企業家來說，向美國擴張的難度越來越大。

在 2019 年之前，中國公司在美國開展業務幾乎沒有重大障礙。 但在美中貿易緊張局勢升級的情況下，尤其是在華盛頓對電信巨頭華為實施制裁之後，一些中國公司開始在海外設立總部 - 此舉可能有助於它們減少會引起美國政府的留意。

現在，一些中國大陸的科技企業的所有者表示，他們需要更進一步，獲得海外永久居留權或公民身份，以避免在美國對中國公司的限制和偏見。

由於擔心在中國遭到報復，總部位於深圳的 Ryan 拒絕透露自己的姓氏說，他成立三年的軟件初創公司已經達到了很自然地在美國 - 世界上最大的經濟體 - 擴張的地步。 他的公司已經在東亞擁有一百萬用戶，並在北美擁有強大的基礎。

但他對美中貿易爭端以及美國立法者已經,或正在提議對越來越多的中國公司施加限制感到失望。

他說: “這是非常不公平的,” 感歎其他國家的競爭對手在試圖向美國擴張時沒有遇到類似的問題 

“我們感覺很像夾在餅乾中間的餡料。”

他的解決方案？ 他正試圖在另一個亞洲國家獲得永久居留權。

路透社採訪了七位來自中國大陸的科技企業家，他們中的大多數人在海外接受教育，他們希望在美國拓展業務。 所有人都試圖在其他地方獲得永久居留權或公民身份，其中大多數都在探索一系列選擇，包括香港、加拿大、日本、美國和新加坡。

在這七位企業家中，三位同意只透露他們的英文名字，而其他人則要求完全匿名，理由都是擔心在中國境內的反響。 他們還要求不要詳細描述他們的業務。

更不友善的態度

雖然特朗普政府的廣泛徵收關稅並對華為實施制裁，已使美中緊張局勢可能得到新的推動，在拜登總統的領導下，兩國都在爭奪全球科技主導地位，更令摩擦繼續有增無減。

主要的爆發點包括美國對芯片的出口限制和數據安全問題，這些問題已經導致字節跳動旗下的 TikTok 在美國政府設備上被禁止，並被蒙大拿州完全禁止。 就中國本身而言，它最近禁止關鍵行業使用美光科技的產品，並試圖控制外國諮詢公司和盡職調查公司。

這些企業家和顧問表示，地緣政治緊張局勢意味著對於希望在美國經營或獲得資金的中國大陸公司來說，氣氛是不太友善。

U.S. communications consultancy APCO Worldwide 大中華區主席 James McGregor 表示： “華盛頓特區和許多州首府的政治敘事是基於這樣一種誤解，即所有中國公司都與中國政府和中國共產黨交織在一起，並聽命於中國政府和中國共產黨。”

美國商務部沒有回應對於美國國內對待中國公司的態度發表評論的請求。

中國外交部在一份聲明中表示，一些西方國家希望 “將技術政治化，為正常的技術和貿易合作設置障礙，這對雙方都沒有好處，也對全球技術進步和經濟增長產生不利影響。”

（待續）

Note:

APCO Worldwide, according to Wikipedia, is an independent global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy. With 680 employees in 35 worldwide locations, it is also the fifth largest independently owned PR firm in the United States. According to its website, having entered the China market as one of the first consultancies in 1989, APCO has helped a wide range of organizations succeed in China. APCO believes that they are keenly sensitive to changes in the political, regulatory, and business landscape across China and advise business, government and non-profit organizations on issues critical to their success through its offices in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. (https://apcoworldwide.com/region/greater-china/)