In the context of contemporary geopolitical dynamics, discussions about “delinking” and “derisking” have become increasingly prominent, particularly in relation to the ongoing U.S.-China trade war. This talk examines the reverse of the current trend: the emergence of the global supply chain that transformed China into the “factory of the world” and elevated Shenzhen—one of China’s first Special Economic Zones—into the “Silicon Valley of hardware” and the headquarters of U.S.-blacklisted Information and Communication Technology (ICT) giants Huawei and ZTE.

Focusing on the period between the 1980s and 2000s, I highlight three key processes that fuelled Shenzhen’s rapid rise in the electronics industry: Large-scale relocation of military-industry factories from China’s interior to Shenzhen provided the city with essential human capital; Export-oriented manufacturing facilitated the inflow of advanced technologies and expertise from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan and the US, driving technological upgrades; Shenzhen’s status as an institutional experiment with a market economy in socialist China encouraged the innovative repurposing of Cold War-era military technologies, such as adapting military radar for real-time price transmission at the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. These intertwined processes—migration, circulation, and conversion—positioned Shenzhen as a pivotal node for global technological diffusion and solidified its role as a critical technological contact zone connecting China with the rest of the world.

Dr. Taomo Zhou is a historian of modern China and Southeast Asia who’s curious about borders, frontiers and liminal spaces, such as communities of ethnic minorities, free ports and special economic zones. Her research has been focusing on the movement and mobility of people, ideologies, commodities, and capital in the twentieth century. Currently, She is an associate professor in the Department of Chinese Studies and Dean’s Chair in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore. More details about Dr. Taomo Zhou can be found here.

This event is co-sponsored by the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies.