To us laymen who drink bubble teas, we only know that trade wars mean taxes: Country A put tariffs (taxes) on goods imported from Country B, so Country B suffers. Country B then counters with their own tariffs, and Country A suffers.
In the end, the economy suffers, and one side would have to give in, or we all suffer.
But no one said anything about banning companies.
And it seems like this ongoing trade war would escalate to that.
Started With Huawei
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’d know about the Huawei ban.
Before you associate that with the trade war, you’d have to know this: while there’s an ongoing trade war between China and the US, Huawei was banned not because of the trade war, but because they allegedly posed a security threat due to their alleged espionage.
Simply put, banning Huawei isn’t part of the trade war; at least, on paper.
However, people are associating it with the trade war since Huawei’s a China company and US is…US.
So far, China’s not officially responded to that, since a response would show that they’re helping a third-party company.
But now, the sleeping giant has awakened.
And I ain’t talking about Huawei. I’m talking about China.
Huawei CEO
Lest you’re not aware, ever since the Huawei ban, Huawei’s CEO has stepped up and told the media that he didn’t support China retaliating back. In fact, he mentioned that he would “protest” if China retaliates and ban Apple, a US company.
While there’s no mention of Apple being blacklisted, China is ready for its countermeasures.
Huawei was banned as it has been included in the US’s “Entity List”, in which companies in the list must apply for a licence from the US Bureau of Industry and Security.
Now, China’s Striking Back
Well, China’s coming out with its own “unreliable entities list”. The list would identify foreign entities that present a risk to Chinese companies, and it won’t be focusing on a specific industry, company or individual.
According to the China commerce ministry, “The aim is to safeguard a fair competitive market.”
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The details of the list, like how it would determine which companies to be included and what restrictions would be imposed, are still in the works.
The spokesperson for the commerce ministry said, “The Chinese government is carrying out the necessary procedures, and specific measures will be announced in the near future.”
Law experts in China believe it could work the same way as the US Entity List, and here’s the interesting part: analysts think that the “victims” would be the firms that have banned Huawei.
But of course, other than the confirmation of the creation of the list, the rest are still speculation. Still, this sounds surreally familiar, and we all know that the next few months would be interesting.
For all we know, this could be a game of brinkmanship and Huawei would be back—stronger than ever.
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