Source: The Next Web
Beijing is using state-level pressure to force internet giants away from destructive price competition and toward capital-intensive AI development—a move that protects profitability while consolidating the Party's control over which companies lead in the next technology cycle. This marks a shift from the "growth at all costs" playbook that defined Chinese tech for the past decade. The government sees sustained competitive pressure as strategically wasteful when facing Western AI competition. For global tech operators, the takeaway is plain: Chinese market share gains can be revoked at the policy level when they conflict with state priorities.