America’s tech giants vie with China’s in third countries

IT IS the world’s most titanic commercial fight. Facing off are the towering giants of American and Chinese tech, led by the FAANGs (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google’s parent, Alphabet) on one side and the BATs (Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent) on the other. These are some of the planet’s biggest firms, with a combined stockmarket capitalisation of more than $4trn. At play are some of its most promising markets. Why, then, has the battle largely escaped attention?One reason is where it is taking place. The titans have avoided each other in their home markets, and rising trade tensions make it ever less likely that a clash will happen there (see ). Except for Amazon and Apple, the FAANGs are already all but banned in China. America, meanwhile, is putting up barriers to Chinese firms. This week the Trump administration declared China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier, a potential threat to national security. Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, was stopped from buying an American payments firm earlier this year. Tighter investment restrictions are on the way. So the cream of America and China are taking each other on directly only in third countries, such as Brazil, India and Indonesia (see ).