Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) firm iFlyTek was planning to expand its European business as trade tensions rise between the United States and China, vice-president Vincent Zhan said.
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“The US and China trade war has some impact for us,” Zhan said in an interview on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona this week, adding that North America is the company’s largest market outside China in terms of demand.
Zhan said iFlyTek was aiming to diversify its supply chain to reduce any impact from tariffs while working to expand its business.
US President Donald Trump this week announced 20 per cent tariffs on several Chinese electronics categories untouched by prior duties, including smartphones, laptops, video game consoles, smart watches and speakers and Bluetooth devices.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, imposed new tariffs on Chinese computer chips last year.
iFlyTek, with a market capitalisation of 123 billion Chinese yuan (US$16.97 billion) based on LSEG data, currently sells in France and Hungary, where it already has an office. It also planned to open an office in Paris this year or next, Zhan said.