Who wants a job in China?

Greetings from Tokyo, Vlad here. Today I want to address the feasibility of Chinese President Xi’s aspirational “legion of talent.” But firs [View in browser]( [Bloomberg]( Greetings from Tokyo, Vlad here. Today I want to address the feasibility of Chinese President Xi’s aspirational “legion of talent.” But first... Today’s must-reads: • Ye [explains]( why he bought Parler • Chip [delivery times]( are easing as supplies normalize • Airbus [wins a deal]( for its cute and giant Beluga jets Things have changed Xi Jinping [pledged](at the twice-a-decade Communist Party congress to assemble a legion of talent in China and win the battle to develop homegrown technologies. I have my doubts about his recruitment drive. There was a time when working in China would have been an exciting prospect for a European like me. You’d make more money, since local employers would pay a premium to lure you over, and you’d see a whole other culture replete with the fastest tech adoption in the world. That time was as recent as 2019. That’s when I arrived in Asia, landing in nearby Japan and spending a good deal of my time since then covering the ins and outs of China’s tech industry. And I’ve observed how quickly the country’s image as a potential employer has soured. The Hong Kong pro-democracy protests and their unceremonious [quashing]( were one red flag. Beijing’s militant [adherence]( to its Covid Zero policy was a second, and Xi’s [crackdown]( on dissent from corporate leaders like Jack Ma and their companies raised a third. In the space of a couple years, China’s public image has shifted from a lucrative growth engine that you might want to hitch a ride with to a teetering titan with more problems than solutions. The US has played its part. Its most recent salvo of export controls on China included the surprise addition of [preventing]( “US persons” from working on advanced chip tech in China or for Chinese customers. That class includes people with green cards and US residency, capturing a wide swath of senior executives at Chinese semiconductor firms. A fairly bombastic assessment of that measure, which went viral [on Twitter](, called it an “industry-wide decapitation.” Beijing wants to build a workforce of the world’s most brilliant minds to help it catch up to the US in key tech and research sectors, but now it can’t call on many of its US-educated nationals as well as potential recruits who have American ties. The new restrictions from Washington have triggered an immediate response from companies such as key chipmaking gear provider [ASML Holding NV](, which quickly [cut off]( its US staff from servicing Chinese customers. The penalties for non-compliance are severe, and even though it’s not yet clear how strict US enforcement will be, no one’s taking any chances. Think of that for a moment. China is the world’s biggest market for smartphones and electric vehicles, with ever-growing purchasing power; it’s the world’s biggest manufacturing hub; it has logistics infrastructure that’s envied across Asia — and still international businesses would rather step away than incur the displeasure of the US. So how does Xi square the circle? China’s seemingly overarching priority of control — whether of the population, the discourse or what it dubs the disorderly expansion of capital — is ill-suited to attract the designers, researchers and engineers it needs from abroad. [Huawei Technologies Co.]( -- the [Apple Inc.]( of China until a cascade of US sanctions derailed its consumer business — built up its expertise with strategically chosen overseas recruits. The company brought in a former Apple creative director to be its lead designer. It poached camera engineers from Europe’s faded stars of the mobile market and audio chiefs from reputable audiophile brands. That caliber of technological talent came to a China whose place in the global supply chain was secure, igniting years of growth. It won’t be as easy to retain that talent, given the current geopolitical climate. I can still see China regaining its luster once we truly shake off the pandemic and the global economy begins to normalize. But the US has shown it’ll do everything it can to slow that process, and China’s own leadership isn’t doing much to demonstrate it will be of great help either.—[Vlad Savov](mailto:vsavov5@bloomberg.net) The big story From Zoom to Sea, new fortunes were [minted]( during the pandemic. Some Covid billionaires lost theirs faster than others. Get fully charged Foxconn founder Terry Gou [drove a new EV prototype]( out on stage in Taipei today, showing off the company’s progress as an automaker. India’s smartphone maker Lava and China’s Huaqin want to [team up]( in manufacturing and challenge Apple assembler Foxconn. The CEO of social media app Parler [talks to Bloomberg TV]( about the company's deal with Ye. Follow Us More from Bloomberg Dig gadgets or video games? [Sign up for Power On]( to get Apple scoops, consumer tech news and more in your inbox on Sundays. [Sign up for Game On]( to go deep inside the video game business, delivered on Fridays. Why not try both? Like getting this newsletter? [Subscribe to Bloomberg.com]( for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.​​​​​​​ You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Tech Daily newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022 [Ads Powered By Liveintent]( [Ad Choices](