From Huawei to ByteDance, China Tech Starts 2020 on Shaky Ground

China’s tech industry enters a new year after weathering unprecedented turbulence in 2019, when giants emerged in social media and artificial intelligence only to bear the brunt of Washington’s campaign to contain the world’s No. 2 economy. There’s little reason to think 2020 will be much different given U.S. efforts to hobble Chinese champions from Huawei Technologies Co. to SenseTime Group Ltd. deemed a threat to national security.

American lawmakers went after some of the country’s biggest names last year. Foremost among them were smartphone and networking titan Huawei and ByteDance Inc., the Chinese wunderkind that in the span ...