西方應該質疑中國的科技嗎?

www.bbc.com

Both the US and UK have issued warnings about the Chinese technology and telecoms giant ZTE.

The decision by the US Commerce Department to ban American firms from selling equipment to ZTE for the next seven years dates back to a case from a few years ago, when ZTE was accused by the US government of violating sanctions against Iran.

At the time, the US said if ZTE refused to comply, there would be consequences.

This week, the US made good on those threats and is hitting ZTE where it hurts.

A shortage of US components is likely to cause ZTE to miss shipment deadlines and lose orders, according to investment firm Jefferies. It has cut its estimates for ZTE sales by 13.5% in 2018 and 7.6% in 2019.

ZTEs chairman Yin Yimin has reportedly said this is a "crisis" and called for his 80,000 strong staff to remain calm, according to a leaked memo seen by the South China Morning Post.

And its not just the US.

In a seemingly unrelated case, the UK on Monday warned companies about doing business with ZTE, saying its cyber-defence watchdog has blacklisted the Chinese firm over concerns of national security.

Granted, these are two different issues, but the incidents highlight one glaring fact: the West is increasingly suspicious of Chinese tech.

That suspicion is complicated by the current "geopolitical tension", says Chris DeAngelis（領英里關於他的介紹） of the ADG group in Beijing.

Regardless of whether there is truth to the national security concerns, the real issue, he says, is that the US and the UK want to ensure the survival of globally competitive firms that compete with ZTE.

姑且不論是否涉及到國家安全，在Chris DeAngelis看來，英美的真正目的，是確保全球範圍內與中興有競爭關係的公司的競爭力。

The geopolitical tension Mr DeAngelis is referring to is the ongoing trade row between the US and China.

At the heart of this spat, as Ive said before, is that the US says China forced American companies that wanted access to low-cost labour and the massive market to tie up with Chinese companies - in effect allowing them to copy and steal American ideas.

這樣的事，西方沒少干過。只不過，他們擅長雙標。

China says thats not true, and Beijing has been very vocal about the way it perceives its firms are being treated by the West.

Chinas Ministry of Commerce has urged the United States to "create fair, just, and stable legal and policy environment for Chinese companies", with regards to the ZTE decision.

And perhaps more notably, it also said it was prepared to take action to protect the interests of Chinese firms.

ZTE is not the only Chinese tech firm thats been targeted by the West.

Chinas Huawei, for example, has been blocked from striking a deal to sell its new smartphone via a US carrier over security concerns.

And Broadcom, a firm formerly domiciled in Singapore, had its bid to takeover Qualcomm blocked because of US national security concerns that specifically cited Huawei and Chinese technology.

At the crux of this is a suspicion that Chinese companies are the eyes and ears of the Chinese government in Western markets.

問題的癥結在於，他們懷疑這些公司是中國政府在西方市場的眼線。

Whether those suspicions are warranted is hard to prove, but "there is no question that telecom and communications is a valid security risk", Mr DeAngelis told me.

"If you have a problem in a network, do you really want to rely on your vendor if you are in the middle of a trade war, for example?" he said.

Most of the narrative on Chinese tech is that theyve copied American ideas and then sold them back to the West at cheaper prices.

While that may have been true in the past, its certainly not fair to say that today.

以前確實幹過，但如果現在還這麼說，顯然有失公允。

連江湖人稱BB China的BBC都這樣說了，真是打了知乎一大票人的臉。

My experience of reporting on Chinese tech over the last few years has shown me that Chinese companies are innovating at a pace that is often unparalleled by other countries.

我這幾年報導中國科技類新聞的經歷告訴我，中國正以其他國家經常無法企及的速度在創新。

Recently, Chinese firms have also beaten global firms in China, as ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing proved recently by driving Uber out.

Some say the Wests fear originates in envy and an ignorance of just how hard Chinese firms can make their staff work.

"Unless people have seen the Chinese tech culture known as 996, they dont understand Chinese tech," writes Lawrence Kuok in supchina.com.

(The number 996 refers to the Chinese tech firms practice of working from 9am to 9pm, six days a week.)

"What I think a lot of people dont understand about the Chinese market is that there are many aspects that require pure and utter hard work," he said.

Chinese tech firms do get help from their government, in the form of protection of the domestic market, which has allowed them to grow and dominate in China.

Thats not to say theyre not formidable players in their own right, though.

的確，由於中國政府對中國國內市場的保護，這些公司發展壯大，並成為國內的業界巨頭。

但這並不妨礙他們成為令人敬畏的對手。

But China, and Chinese firms, are used to having a longer term view.

"No road that leads to a bright future is straight," says ZTEs Mr Yin in that leaked memo. "The companys internationalisation will also have its ups and downs… we will be stronger after weathering the storm."

制裁中興只是貿易戰的一個方面。

貿易戰只是遏制中國崛起的一個方面。

帝國主義亡我之心不死。

借用下主席說過的：「封鎖吧，封鎖十年八年，中國的問題就解決了」