China's Lost Tech Generation

Tech funding is drying up as China's economy slows amid a trade war with the US. Worker discontent threatens the sector's model over the long term. Terry Hu first sensed trouble at the Beijing China gaming startup where he worked when his boss stopped showing up. Then the stockpile of freebies for users-gift cards, plush toys-ran out. The founder finally said funding had dried up for the company. A generation of Chinese tech workers is confronting a new reality as the industry endures its worst slump since the 2008 financial crisis. China's broader economic slowdown and the trade war with the US have ended the boom that birthed heavyweights including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. Job losses are mounting, and hiring has slowed. The tacit promise for workers in the country's notoriously relentless tech culture-put in the hours and get rich quick - no longer holds.