Chinese GenAI firms have to clear many hurdles to succeed, but the country’s government supports them - in contrast to the EU and US - and is taking active measures to do so, while also crafting less arbitrary policies and requirements, says Hong Kong Law Prof Angela Huyue Zhang.

Since 2020, a flurry of new rules and regulations have been introduced that were intended to curb the excesses of China’s tech giants and assert greater government control over them. ‘Golden share’ arrangements, in which government entities acquire stakes and board seats in private companies, could help make regulation more predictable and ensure that companies’ business strategies are better aligned with government policy, but such arrangements also carry risks of their own.