Foreign Policy published on 24 July 2018 an article titled "Beijing's Big Brother Tech Needs African Faces" by Amy Hawkins, a freelance writer based in Beijing.
CloudWalk Technology, a Guangzhou-based start-up, has signed a deal with Zimbabwe to provide a mass facial recognition program. The agreement is on hold until Zimbabwe's elections on 30 July. If the deal goes through, it will enable Zimbabwe to replicate parts of the surveillance infrastructure that have made freedoms so limited in China.