In the whirlwind techno-thriller China Salesman, director Tan Bing presents a politically charged action drama that explores the high-stakes competition of international telecom contracts on the African continent. While marketed as a conventional action flick featuring big names like Mike Tyson and Steven Seagal, the film is an ambitious attempt to mix global politics, corporate espionage, and East-versus-West economic rivalry—all centered around one young Chinese engineer.
The story follows Yan Jian, a brilliant IT engineer from China, dispatched to North Africa to secure his country's position in a telecom bidding war. What begins as a corporate assignment quickly escalates into a violent, multi-factional power struggle involving corrupt governments, European rivalries, African rebels, and hired muscle. Yan’s journey is portrayed as a patriotic mission, fighting not only for a business deal but for national honor and technological sovereignty.
While the film attempts to showcase China as a responsible and benevolent global player, critics have pointed out its heavy-handed nationalism and lack of nuance in character development. The action sequences, while stylized, often feel disconnected from the plot, and the performances from Seagal and Tyson—though attention-grabbing—border on the surreal. Still, China Salesman offers a unique glimpse into how soft power and tech infrastructure are portrayed in modern geopolitical storytelling
Though no official sequel has been announced, it’s easy to imagine China Salesman continuing into a second chapter. In China Salesman 2: Digital Empire, Yan Jian returns—now promoted to a senior strategist at a state-backed telecom giant. The story picks up in Latin America, where a new 6G rollout is threatened by a CIA-backed cyber militia, local political unrest, and a shadowy global consortium aiming to fracture the world's digital infrastructure.
Yan is once again at the heart of the storm, navigating jungle warfare, economic sabotage, and even betrayal from within his own team. Unlike the first film, the sequel would adopt a more introspective tone, exploring themes like digital colonialism, data sovereignty, and the ethical dilemmas of technology transfer. Former foes might become allies, and Yan may have to question whether he’s truly a salesman—or a pawn in a much larger geopolitical chess game.
This imagined follow-up would benefit from more grounded writing, deeper character arcs, and a clearer moral conflict. Ideally, it would shift from loud propaganda to a more complex narrative that reflects the realities of global tech competition and its consequences for ordinary people across developing nations.
China Salesman is a rare film that dares to blend tech diplomacy and action, though it struggles to balance entertainment with messaging. Still, it remains a cultural artifact of China’s growing interest in cinematic soft power. Whether seen as propaganda, curiosity, or cult oddity, it leaves fertile ground for future storytelling—if filmmakers dare to go deeper than surface-level spectacle.
