China Summons Tech Giants to Warn Against Cooperating With Trump Ban – The New York Times
What happened: The Chinese government summoned several global technology companies including US software giant Microsoft, South Korean smartphone maker Samsung, and US computer maker Dell, for talks last week, warning that complying with a US ban on selling American technology to Chinese firms may face further complications for all sector participants. British chip designer ARM was also called in by Chinese official in the meetings; the company halted supplies to Huawei last month. The talks followed the US ban last month on selling technology and components to Chinese telecom giant Huawei. Chinese officials did not mention Huawei but asked these foreign companies not to make hasty or ill-considered moves before the situation was fully understood.
Why it’s important: China has begun fighting back at the US for banning Huawei. The meeting came after China’s announcement that it was putting together an “unreliable entities list” of foreign companies and people that “blockade and stop supplying Chinese companies for non-commercial reasons.” Using American tech companies as a bargaining chip in diplomatic deals is a common tactic for China, but experts cited in the story said such a play is less likely to be effective because it forces the companies to choose between complying with pressure from Beijing and violating US law.