The U.S.-China trade war is nothing but a tech war. Now, it is entering a new phase where digital and coding hostilities would be evident. Yes, the highly esteemed Y Combinator is shutting down its Chinese version. As that is happening, the US Army is carrying out a security review of TikTok, the extremely popular Chinese video app: “National security experts have raised concerns about TikTok’s collection and handling of user data, including user content and communications, IP addresses, location-related data, metadata, and other sensitive personal information,” U.S. Senator Schumer wrote in a Nov. 7 letter.
Y Combinator, a Silicon Valley incubator of start-ups, said on Thursday it would close YC China, a Chinese version of its U.S. program.
The move comes as tensions rise between the United States and China over trade and intellectual property in the technology sector. Y Combinator said the decision was a change in strategy unrelated to problems between the two countries.
YC China was created in 2018 under the leadership of Qi Lu, a computer scientist who was an executive in Microsoft Corp and Chinese search engine Baidu Inc.
Y Combinator said in a blog post that the incubator had changed its strategy to supporting local and international startups from its Silicon Valley headquarters.
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