With generous state support at home and low-cost sales abroad, Hikvision has become the world’s surveillance heavyweight. Its facilities can churn out 260,000 cameras daily—two for every three people born each day. In 2019, it produced nearly a quarter of the world’s surveillance cameras, with sales in more than 150 countries.

Among the policies that Hikvision’s products have supported is China’s wide-ranging crackdown against the predominantly Muslim Uyghurs and other minority groups in the western province of Xinjiang. There, CETC has supplied military-style command and surveillance systems, facial-recognition systems that automate ethnic profiling, and a police program that aggregates data and flags people deemed potentially threatening. “Our goal is to lead the development of China’s electronics industry and build the cornerstone of national security,” CETC’s chair said in 2017. (Hikvision did not respond to requests for comment for my book or for this edited excerpt.)

Far from being appalled by Hikvision’s role in China’s atrocities, however, plenty of foreign leaders are intrigued. They see an opportunity to acquire tools that could reduce crime and spur growth. Of course, the authoritarian-leaning among them also see a chance to monitor their domestic challengers and cement their control. But mayors in developing countries are just as focused on creating jobs and improving city services as their counterparts in wealthier countries. They have fewer resources, though, which can make Chinese technology even more appealing.