Why China Is Subsidizing Cheap Surveillance Cameras

The Chinese government has given billions to the video surveillance company Hikvision, whose cameras have spread throughout the globe.

STORY AT-A-GLANCE

• Hikvision began as an entity of China, and its largest shareholder remains the state-owned China Electronics Technology Group Corporation (CETC), a defense-industrial firm

• Hikvision receives generous support from China’s Communist leaders, allowing the company to offer low prices and expand abroad rapidly, outpacing much of its competiti…