Kai-Fu Lee, a prominent Chinese venture capitalist and former president of Google China, said his investment firm is considering a scale back in the United States if relations between the two countries deteriorate further.
Lee, the chairman and chief executive officer of Sinovation Ventures, said his firm would likely try to lure talent from the United States to China instead of investing in American businesses. Lee said his next steps will hinge on a planned meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Donald Trump on Nov. 30 at the Group of 20 nations summit in Buenos Aires. Lee didn't specify what would need to happen to forestall his retreat.
"Our U.S. strategy is pending on the Argentina meeting, to see if there is a U.S. strategy," Lee said at the CEC Capital Summit, an annual event in California hosted by a Beijing investment bank. "We don't have to invest in the U.S."
Founded in 2009, Sinovation Ventures was one of the first Chinese VC firms with a presence in the United States. Other global firms, including Sequoia Capital and GGV Capital, have propelled their brands using a similar strategy that promises entrepreneurs a bridge between the world's two largest economies.
Sinovation Ventures manages about $2 billion between six funds in U.S. and Chinese currencies. It holds shares in more than 300 companies, most of which are in China. The financial impact of a U.S. pullout for the firm would be muted.
"Ninety-five percent of our past money was invested in China, so that could easily be 98 percent or 100 percent if that's what it takes," Lee said. "We may end up with two Internets. We may end up with two sets of AI. We may end up with two sets of Internet governance principles."
SundayMonday Business on 11/18/2018