How Chinese Technology Grew to Rival Silicon Valley

Despite starting years behind the U.S. in developing a technology industry, China now boasts some of the world’s biggest companies in the field. There’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. with its mammoth e-commerce operations, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and its WeChat social network with 1 billion users, and Baidu Inc. with its stranglehold on internet search. As those companies look beyond the domestic market for their next leg of growth, China’s government is eyeing a leading global role in industries such as artificial intelligence. But can a tech industry that’s been focused on home for decades become a serious contender to rival Silicon Valley?

The country’s political hierarchy has set its sights on becoming a world leader in a number of key technological industries through its “Made in China 2025” program. As part of that plan, the government is putting in billions of dollars’ worth of investment to build up its semiconductor industry and reduce its reliance on foreign supplies. China’s leaders last year said that artificial intelligence would be a vital driver of expansion that will generate more than 400 billion yuan ($48 billion) to the economy by 2025.