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China tech veterans to launch ‘domestic replacement’ fund amid US sanctions
- Former executives at Huawei Technologies and SMIC are among the Chinese tech veterans who plan to launch a fund to help create China’s next tech giant
- The fund will invest in start-ups specialising in technologies including semiconductors, 5G and artificial intelligence
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Chinese tech veterans, including former executives at Huawei Technologies and SMIC, are planning to launch a “domestic replacement” fund by the end of the year to help create China’s next tech giant and support Chinese companies sanctioned by Washington.
Venture capital firm China Europe Capital aims to raise 5 billion yuan (US$731.46 million) for the fund which will invest in start-ups specialising in technologies including semiconductors, 5G and artificial intelligence, said Zhang Jun, the firm’s chairman and a former vice-president at telecom equipment maker Huawei.
The fund launch comes amid a government-backed investment boom in China’s technology sector as Beijing competes with Washington in an increasingly acrimonious “tech war”.
Relations between the world’s two largest economies have nosedived in recent months as they butt heads over the coronavirus pandemic, Hong Kong and trade.
“China and the US are in a Great Power rivalry that will end only when there’s a knockout,” Zhang told Reuters in an interview.
“It’s not just about trade war, or sanctions. It’s a matter of life and death.”
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