The Chinese government is considering both restrictions on, and investigations against, U.S. companies operating in China.
What you need to know
- China is mulling over retaliatory measures against the U.S., following its move to cut off Huawei's access to crucial semiconductor suppliers.
- Reports suggest it's considering launching investigations against U.S. companies.
- Apple, Boeing, Cisco, and Qualcomm have all been named as potential targets.
The trade war between the U.S. and China may be slated to become far more damaging soon. Following the announcement of new rules by the Trump administration non-U.S. chipmakers — like — from supplying Huawei, China is considering retaliatory measures against U.S. companies in response.
The reports that the Chinese government is considering a range of legal measures targeting U.S. companies, including launching investigations into them or otherwise restricting their ability to operate in the country.
The report specifically lists the possibility of using laws like the Cybersecurity Review Measures and Anti-monopoly Law to target Apple, Cisco, and Qualcomm. At the same time, the country may also choose to stop purchasing Boeing planes for the foreseeable future to put the hurt on U.S. companies.
"China will launch rounds of endless investigations on those firms, just like swords hanging over their head. It will dampen investors' confidence and squeeze their income in the Chinese market," said one anonymous insider cited in the report.
And in a move similar to the one that started the whole Huawei saga, the Chinese government is also considering the use of an 'unreliable entity list' to target U.S. companies.
Alongside those mentioned above, the Chinese government may also choose to target smaller firms, which would be far less capable of weathering such measures as a "first-level warning," said Gao Lingyun, one of the experts cited in the report.