Shenzhen trip, DJI visit by China’s vice-premier offers ‘no-limits support’ amid US tech curbs

Ding Xuexiang, China’s executive vice-premier, wrapped up a three-day inspection tour of Shenzhen on Sunday, which included a trip to blacklisted drone maker DJI

He also visited local laboratories and a tech cooperation zone with Hong Kong in Shenzhen, which is a key part of the Greater Bay Area

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Vice-premier Ding Xuexiang visits Pengcheng Laboratory during an inspection tour in Shenzhen. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 8:00pm, 16 Oct 2023

A first trip to Shenzhen, a key technology hub in the Greater Bay Area, by China’s executive vice-premier signalled Beijing’s strong hopes for the city and the region to help break intensifying US technological containment efforts, analysts said.

Ding Xuexiang’s three-day inspection tour featured a visit to US-blacklisted drone maker DJI, local laboratories and a tech cooperation zone with Hong Kong, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

The trip, which concluded on Sunday, suggested there will be “no-limits support” from local authorities and central government ministries to tackle sanctions and implement a tech self-reliance drive, said Li Jin, an academic with the Renmin University of China.

Shenzhen has a large swathe of tech companies, including Huawei Technologies, widely seen to have broken through the US ban on selling advanced semiconductor technologies to China by releasing its Mate 60 Pro smartphone in September.

China’s largest exporting city is also home to the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Cooperation Zone.

Last month, China’s State Council reaffirmed efforts to turn neighbouring cities into national innovation engines by 2035, with the cooperation zone set to play a key role.

“The Greater Bay Area shoulders the mission of heralding tech innovation and self-sufficiency,” Yuekai Securities said in June.