Chill pervades China’s tech firms even as crackdown eases

Attendees walk past a booth advertising 5G telecommunications services at the PT Expo in Beijing, on Sept 28, 2021. A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead. — AP

HONG KONG: A grinding crackdown that wiped billions of dollars of value off Chinese technology companies is easing, but the once-freewheeling industry is bracing for much slower growth ahead.

Analysts say China’s easing of restrictions on companies like ecommerce giant Alibaba and online games company Tencent and talk of support for the private sector reflects Beijing’s decision to refocus on growth after the economy was ravaged by the pandemic and restrictions imposed to fight Covid-19.