China’s tech crackdown challenges Western notions

China’s tech crackdown challenges Western notions

As part of the rules, tech giants are having to set up external bodies to monitor their data collection, while foreign companies have to appoint representatives within China dedicated to compliance. Companies in breach are risking fines of up to 5% of turnover. These rules are the latest example in the year-long crackdown on tech and finance in China. It started with Beijing's decision in November 2020 to scrap finance giant Ant Group's flotation , which was expected to have been the world's largest IPO. Billionaire founder-CEO Jack Ma subsequently disappeared from the public eye for three months , and it is still not clear if an IPO will go ahead. Beijing has also been getting tougher on companies, such as DiDi (China's Uber), whose shares are listed overseas ; shutting down China's most famous financial bloggers ; banning cryptocurrency trading and mining ; and introducing new restrictions for whole industries such as gaming . Most recently, regulators have been signaling that some of the country's most popular stock-trading apps are illegal. These interventions have consequences not only for Chinese companies but for the global financial system. China's financial system is a US$45 trillion industry, boasting the world's second-largest stock