Well, perhaps. And yet the Chinese government is hardly in a position to accuse anyone else of unfair competition. This is a country where X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp, Google and Instagram are all blocked from operating.
If it genuinely had a problem with “bullying behaviour”, not to mention the “economic and trade order”, then China could make a start by taking down the firewalls that prevent American websites and apps from operating in the country.
It could follow that up by making Mastercard and Visa acceptable forms of payment, allowing global banks to open up branches, and letting Western media companies and streaming services operate within the country. That would be a lot more effective than just issuing a few angry denunciations.
The US move to force the restructuring, or indeed the sale, of Tik Tok may be the start. But surely it doesn’t end there. As China’s giant companies, all emerging from the country’s 30 years of modernisation, move into Western markets, they can expect similar challenges and restrictions.
The fast-fashion retailer Shein is already a huge presence in Western markets, but there is no reason why that should be allowed if European and American rivals are not offered the same access to China’s market. The same applies to the rapidly expanding web retailer Temu, a kind of Chinese Amazon, which is already one of the most ubiquitous advertisers on the web.
The automakers, led by BYD, with a slick range of competitively priced electric vehicles, are already starting a big push West, and while the likes of Volkswagen are big players in China, other manufacturers have not been able to secure the same kind of slice of the market.
With the Comac-C919 plane now on sale, China may well start to close down access to the aviation market for Boeing and Airbus in favour of its own national champion, but that is surely unfair, and if it happens Comac should be shut out of Western markets before the world’s two dominant plane-makers are destroyed.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
