Tue August, 2020, Age: 4 years
Even if this U.S.-led campaign blunts Huawei’s global commercial advances, a successful domestic 5G build-out would still lay the groundwork for factories of the future, cementing the country’s status as a global tech-enabled manufacturing center. Manufacturing is expected to be the biggest beneficiary of 5G-enabled industrial output over the next decade and a half. Tapping that potential will enable China to retool supply chains ripped up by Trump’s trade war, and to add more value to its manufacturing. China’s manufacturing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic has been piecemeal, as factories have been hit by the double punch of truncated supply chains and labor shortages. The central government has touted high-tech development as a means of driving up infrastructure spending and stimulating the economy, but China will have to balance its investments against the threat of a rising shadow banking crisis.