The Listening State unveils the hidden story of Huawei, China's most powerful tech giant, and the family dynasty behind it. On December 1, 2018, Meng Wanzhou, daughter of Huawei's founder Ren Zhengfei, was detained in Canada at the request of U.S. authorities, igniting a global crisis that exposed the Ren family’s ties to Beijing’s power structure.

Acclaimed Washington Post reporter Eva Dou takes us behind the scenes, revealing how Huawei’s rise and its connection to China’s state apparatus have played a crucial role in building the country’s modern surveillance state. Through exclusive reporting and never-before-seen documents, Dou reveals how Huawei’s success has helped tighten China’s control over its people and advance its global ambitions, even as the U.S.-China trade war intensified.

The Listening State explores key questions about the emergence of China’s tech giants, their ties to the government, and what Huawei’s global influence means for the future of surveillance both within China and beyond.