China's corruption busters eye key tech sectors as Beijing gears up to challenge US
An anti-corruption investigation sweeping across the Chinese province of Guizhou has toppled a string of officials linked to its once-prized big data sector over the last few months.
The mountainous southwestern province was one of the country's most underdeveloped regions and
banked heavily on the sector to transform its fortunes – becoming a showcase for China's digital ambitions in the process after attracting domestic and foreign tech giants such as Huawei Technologies, Tencent and Apple.
But as well as casting a shadow over Guizhou's big data dream, the deepening scandal has exposed a deeper tension between state-led innovation and accountability.
China's years-long anti-corruption crackdown has intensified its focus on industries – such as big data, semiconductors and tech giants – all of which it sees as strategically important in its drive towards self-reliance amid its deepening rivalry with the United States.
Earlier this month Li Gang, director of the province's National Defence Science and Technology Industry Office and the former chief engineer at the Guizhou Big Data Development Administration, was placed under investigation by the local anti-corruption watchdog on suspicion of 'serious violations of discipline and laws' – a standard euphemism for corruption.
Two former heads of the Big Data Development Administration – Jing Yaping, who retired in October, and her predecessor Ma Ningyu, who later became mayor of the provincial capital Guiyang, were already facing similar investigations.
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