**China 'Surgically' Hits Foreign Firms As US Tech War Worsens**

China 'Surgically' Hits Foreign Firms As US Tech War Worsens

The US-driven "technology blockade" has greatly infuriated China, causing them to surgically target Western companies as the relationship between the two nations continues to deteriorate, according to Financial Times (https://www.ft.com/content/fc2038d2-3e25-4a3f-b8ca-0ceb5532a1f3#comments-anchor).

In the last two months, Chinese officials have hit US defense firms Lockheed Martin and Raytheon with new sanctions (https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-hits-lockheed-martin-raytheon-retaliatory-sanctions-amid-balloon-saga), raided US due diligence firm Mintz and arrested staff, detained a top executive from Japan's Astellas Pharma group, hit London-headquartered Deloitte (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/deloittes-beijing-office-suspended-china-over-deficiencies-huarong-audit) with a massive fine, and launched an investigation into US chipmaker Micron.

> _**"China has not abandoned its strategy of restraint to shift to a new position of wide-ranging retaliation, but they're going to surgically select companies to demonstrate their frustration,"** said Paul Haenle, a former China adviser to President George W Bush and Barack Obama._

The decision to go after Western firms is a sign of strained relations.

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It's a wake-up call for Western firms with large footprints in China.

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According to two people from foreign risk consultancy groups, the incidents at Mintz and Astellas have led to an urgent review of employee safety in China.

> _**"This has been a wake-up call for the industry.**_

>

> _"It is hard for the due diligence players — the **levels of paranoia in China are so high** — but it also affects 'blue-chip' service firms and outfits like Bain, McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group," one of the people said._

The issue with Beijing fostering a hostile environment for foreign companies operating on its soil is that it will undermine efforts to restart the world's second-largest economy (https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/china-unexpectedly-cuts-reserve-ratio-banks-injecting-73bn-stimulate-economy).

> _"It all goes back to the fact that China is facing a lot of challenges this year, particularly on the economic side._

>

> _**"The last thing they need to do is be distracted by an even more hostile relationship with the US,**" said Dexter Roberts, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think-tank._

As there is no immediate solution to the deteriorating Sino-US relations, Beijing's countermeasures could expand, given the ongoing technological and military competition between the two nations.

Tyler Durden (https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden)Tue, 04/18/2023 - 17:05

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-surgically-hits-foreign-firms-us-tech-war-worsens