As technicians in a distant control room watch on display screens, an automated crane at one of China’s busiest ports moves cargo containers from a Korean freighter to self-driving trucks in a scene tech giant Huawei sees as its future after American sanctions crushed its global smartphone brand. The backbone of the “smart terminal” is a data network built by Huawei, which is reinventing itself as a supplier of technology for self-driving cars, factories and other industries that it hopes will be less vulnerable to U.S. pressure. The ruling Communist Party is promoting automation in industries from manufacturing to taxis to keep China’s economy growing as the workforce ages and starts to shrink.
