Will Hangzhou, China's start-up upstart, dethrone Shenzhen or join forces?
For years, Shenzhen has been synonymous with Chinese innovation.
Advertisement
The southern megacity – and the firms it has spawned over the decades – have become the indisputable champions of the country's drive for technological self-reliance, as well as its struggle against containment efforts led by the US.
But as the tech race expands from chips, drones and telecommunications to more nascent products like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, the sudden rise of a
new cohort of start-ups has thrust their home base, Hangzhou, onto the scene.
As the eastern upstart appears poised to steal Shenzhen's thunder, fuelling talk of fierce domestic competition, others are calling for the cities to pool their resources and collaborate to help China overcome the bottlenecks being imposed from outside – and eventually, take pole position in the race to the cutting edge.
'China needs a cluster of hubs to outcompete the US, given its sheer size and talent reservoir. Hangzhou is proof of China's growing innovation [capacity], and more may continue to emerge,' said Guo Wanda, vice-president of the China Development Institute, a government-affiliated think tank based in Shenzhen.
Advertisement
Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, was not a quiet hamlet in China's tech world before this year; it has
housed the headquarters of Alibaba, the e-commerce giant and owner of the South China Morning Post, since the company's founding in 1999.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
HKFP
9 hours ago
- HKFP
Chinese aircraft carrier enters Japan's economic waters, Tokyo says
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan's economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, Tokyo's defence ministry said Monday. The Liaoning carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed around 300 kilometres (190 miles) southwest of Japan's easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a Japanese defence ministry spokesman told AFP. 'We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,' the spokesman said. China's growing military clout and use of naval and air assets to press disputed territorial claims have rattled the United States and its allies in the Asia-Pacific region. Tokyo's chief cabinet secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters on Monday that the government had 'conveyed an appropriate message to the Chinese side' without saying it had lodged a formal protest. After the Liaoning and its accompanying vessels exited Japan's EEZ, fighter jets and helicopters conducted take-offs and landings on Sunday, the ministry statement said. Japan deployed its warship Haguro to the area to monitor the situation, it added. Last month, the Liaoning sailed between two southern Japanese islands within the EEZ, from the East China Sea into the Pacific while conducting take-offs and landings on deck, the ministry said. The carrier in September last year sailed between two Japanese islands near Taiwan and entered Japan's contiguous waters, an area up to 24 nautical miles from its coast. At the time Tokyo called the move 'unacceptable' and expressed 'serious concerns' to Beijing. Under international law, a state has rights to the management of natural resources and other economic activities within its EEZ, which is within 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres) of its coastline. Late last month, Tokyo accused Beijing of conducting unnotified maritime scientific research within its EEZ, near the remote Pacific atoll of Okinotori.
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks The Hang Seng Index finished strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. File photo: RTHK Asian stocks rallied on Monday on hopes that a fresh round of China-US trade talks later in the day will ease tensions between the economic superpowers, while investors were also cheered by forecast-topping US jobs data. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. Across the border, Chinese stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.43 percent to 3,399.77. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.65 percent higher at 10,250. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.07 percent to close at 2,061.29. Regional gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz subside and countries make deals with Washington. All eyes are on London, where top officials from China and the United States are due to meet for more negotiations aimed at preserving a fragile truce agreed last month that slashed eye-watering tit-for-tat levies. The talks come days after President Xi Jinping and Trump held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while aviation giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. The impact of the trade row was highlighted on Monday in data showing Chinese exports to the United States sank more than 34 percent year on year in May and almost 13 percent from the previous month. However, shipments to other regions including the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged. Separate data showed Chinese consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. Optimism that the two sides will make a breakthrough boosted other markets such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also advanced. In Japan, the Nikkei share average advanced ahead of Sino-US trade talks in London later in the day, with investors watching for any easing of restrictions on semiconductor shipments. The Nikkei rose 0.92 percent to 38,088.57 at the close. The broader Topix rose 0.58 percent. A sub-index of growth shares rallied 0.79 percent, outpacing a 0.38 percent rise in value shares. Chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest was the Nikkei's biggest gainer in index-point terms with a 4.86 percent climb. Another chip company, Socionext, soared 7.34 percent to be the top performer in percentage terms. (Reuters/Xinhua)
RTHK
9 hours ago
- RTHK
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks
Sino-US talks hope fuels strong rise for HK stocks The Hang Seng Index finished strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. File photo: RTHK Asian stocks rallied on Monday on hopes that a fresh round of China-US trade talks later in the day will ease tensions between the economic superpowers, while investors were also cheered by forecast-topping US jobs data. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index ended strongly up 388.89 points, or 1.63 percent, for the day at 24,181.43. Across the border, Chinese stocks closed higher, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index up 0.43 percent to 3,399.77. The Shenzhen Component Index closed 0.65 percent higher at 10,250. The ChiNext Index, tracking China's Nasdaq-style board of growth enterprises, gained 1.07 percent to close at 2,061.29. Regional gains extended a run-up across global markets in recent weeks as fears about US President Donald Trump's tariff blitz subside and countries make deals with Washington. All eyes are on London, where top officials from China and the United States are due to meet for more negotiations aimed at preserving a fragile truce agreed last month that slashed eye-watering tit-for-tat levies. The talks come days after President Xi Jinping and Trump held their first publicly announced telephone talks since the Republican returned to the White House. They were helped by news that Beijing had on Saturday approved some applications for rare-earth exports, while aviation giant Boeing will start sending commercial jets to China for the first time since April. The impact of the trade row was highlighted on Monday in data showing Chinese exports to the United States sank more than 34 percent year on year in May and almost 13 percent from the previous month. However, shipments to other regions including the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations surged. Separate data showed Chinese consumer prices fell in May for the fourth straight month. Optimism that the two sides will make a breakthrough boosted other markets such as Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore, Mumbai, Bangkok and Manila also advanced. In Japan, the Nikkei share average advanced ahead of Sino-US trade talks in London later in the day, with investors watching for any easing of restrictions on semiconductor shipments. The Nikkei rose 0.92 percent to 38,088.57 at the close. The broader Topix rose 0.58 percent. A sub-index of growth shares rallied 0.79 percent, outpacing a 0.38 percent rise in value shares. Chip-testing equipment maker and Nvidia supplier Advantest was the Nikkei's biggest gainer in index-point terms with a 4.86 percent climb. Another chip company, Socionext, soared 7.34 percent to be the top performer in percentage terms. (Reuters/Xinhua)
