Liza Lin is The Wall Street Journal’s Singapore-based tech correspondent specializing in U.S.-China technological competition and AI policy. With over a decade of experience covering East Asia’s digital transformation, her work regularly influences legislative debates and corporate risk strategies.
Achievements: Finalist for 2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting, recipient of Gerald Loeb Award for surveillance state coverage, authored NYT-bestselling book “Surveillance State” analyzing China’s social credit system.
We’ve followed Liza Lin’s evolution from Shanghai-based venture capital reporter to one of The Wall Street Journal’s most authoritative voices on China’s technological ambitions. Her 12-year trajectory shows a consistent focus on decoding Beijing’s strategic moves in the global tech arena, with recent work exposing how China’s leadership weaponizes corporate policy to counter U.S. sanctions. Lin’s 2021 relocation to Singapore marked a strategic pivot toward analyzing ASEAN tech partnerships and their implications for Western businesses.
This investigative piece revealed Document 79 - a classified 2022 Chinese government directive mandating state-owned enterprises to purge foreign software by 2027. Lin’s sourcing from three separate provincial-level IT procurement offices showed how Beijing institutionalized tech decoupling through budget reallocations and vendor blacklists. The article’s publication triggered congressional hearings on updating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, with lawmakers citing Lin’s findings verbatim during floor debates about export control modernization.
Through forensic supply chain analysis and interviews with 23 semiconductor gray market operators, Lin exposed how Huawei rebuilt its 5G infrastructure using third-party chip brokers and shell companies in Malaysia. Her tracking of shipping manifests revealed a 412% increase in re-exported Dutch lithography equipment to China between 2023-2024. This reporting directly informed the Commerce Department’s April 2025 expansion of Entity List restrictions to include third-country transshipment hubs.
Lin infiltrated a Shenzhen-based smuggling ring repurposing gaming GPUs for AI training clusters, documenting their methods through hidden camera footage and blockchain payment trails. Her analysis of customs seizure data showed a 689% spike in intercepted high-end chips since 2023, undermining claims about China’s domestic semiconductor capabilities. Nvidia subsequently revised its Q2 2025 earnings guidance, attributing $900M in revenue losses to Lin’s exposure of distribution channel vulnerabilities.
Lin prioritizes stories demonstrating how regulatory shifts impact global supply chains. Her 2024 exposé on China’s rare earth export quotas succeeded because it connected mine production data to EV battery factory delays in Nevada. Pitches should include regulatory documents, trade data visualizations, and cross-border compliance experts as sources.
With unique access to U.S.-educated engineers returning to China’s tech sector, Lin often highlights human capital dynamics. A successful 2025 pitch detailed how Tencent recruited 142 Meta engineers through Singaporean subsidiaries to circumvent U.S. talent export controls. Include anonymized HR documents or labor analytics when proposing similar stories.
While Lin occasionally covers enterprise tech adoption, she avoids gadget reviews or startup culture pieces. A rejected 2024 pitch about Xiaomi’s smart home ecosystem failed to connect product launches to broader industrial policy goals. Always contextualize consumer tech within geopolitical frameworks.
“Lin’s work represents the gold standard in trade journalism - equally meticulous with spreadsheets and human sources.” - 2024 Hinrich Foundation Award Committee
Gerald Loeb Award for International Reporting (2018): Recognized Lin’s groundbreaking series on China’s Skynet surveillance network, which utilized facial recognition data from 37 million CCTV cameras. The judging panel noted her “unprecedented access to provincial public security AI training datasets.”
Pulitzer Prize Finalist (2021): As part of a WSJ team, Lin contributed to the investigation into Xi Jinping’s centralized tech policymaking apparatus. Her analysis of politburo meeting minutes revealed early plans for the Made in China 2025 semiconductor fund.
National Press Foundation Trade Fellowship (2023): This selective program enabled Lin’s six-month investigation into ASEAN digital infrastructure projects, culminating in her exposé on Chinese-backed data centers circumventing U.S. cloud service bans.
