US tariffs, Huawei crackdown impacts 'generally under control' in China's tech hub: Shenzhen vice mayor
Shenzhen Vice Mayor discusses the impact of tariffs on his city.
Over the past 40 years, the tiny fishing village of Shenzhen has transformed into a major tech hub, known as the Silicon Valley of China. It is home to the headquarters of some of China’s largest technology companies, including Tencent, ZTE and Huawei, which today are feeling pressure amid the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.
Huawei, considered to be a national security risk and blacklisted by the U.S. government, now expects revenue to be $30 billion less over the next two years. The company is also Shenzhen's largest employer. The city's vice mayor said he is watching the situation very closely.
“In 2018 our international trade volume stood at actually over $430 billion, therefore Shenzhen will inevitably face negative impacts brought about by the trade frictions and ... the $250 billion worth of goods that the U.S. is going to slap tariffs -- extra tariffs -- on, about $20 billion worth of goods are from Shenzhen,” said Ai Xuefeng to FOX Business’ Connell McShane.
“However these impacts are generally under control,” he added. “From January to May we saw an increase in the international trade volume of Shenzhen especially [exports] rose by 4.8 percent, a growth rate 1.5 percentage higher than that from January to April,” he said.
Despite current problems, Xuefeng said he believes Huawei will overcome any impact caused by the trade tiff.
“We strongly oppose the extreme political crackdown on Huawei by the U.S. government without any concrete evidence,” he said.