China is reinforcing Shenzhen’s defences as its fortress in the tech war with the US. President Xi Jinping has promised new investment for the city on the Pearl Delta. On the same day, as Chinese tech stocks hit new highs, Reuters reported that Huawei, Shenzhen’s most controversial business, could receive helpful proceeds of more than $3bn from an asset sale.

The impression of military manoeuvres by alternative means was reinforced by Tencent, another Shenzhen resident. It was among big Chinese social and video platforms including iQiyi and Weibo, that simultaneously cancelled the livecast of Apple’s iPhone 12 launch.

Mr Xi plans to bolster China’s biggest tech hub by cutting regulations and making takeovers easier. The latter is especially good news for Huawei, which the US accuses of spying. Its smartphone business is just months away from running out of crucial chips following a US sales ban. It is tipped to sell part of its Honor smartphone operation to Digital China, a move cynics will suspect Beijing is brokering.