Chinese tech entrepreneurs keen to 'de-China' as tensions with US soar

Best News Website or Mobile Service

WAN-IFRA Digital Media Awards Worldwide

Best News Website or Mobile Service

Digital Media Awards Worldwide

SHENZHEN, China : 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.