UH OH: China threatens to hold Apple HOSTAGE as trade war retaliation

China is now threatening to retaliate against Trump’s trade war tariffs by going after Apple, which they say is ‘exposed’ and would make a good ‘bargaining chip’:

DAILY BEAST – To gain advantage in the intensifying “trade war” with the United States, China threatened on Tuesday to retaliate against Apple Inc with an incredible public statement.

“China is by far the most important overseas market for the U.S.-based Apple, leaving it exposed if Chinese people make it a target of anger and nationalist sentiment,” People’s Daily stated in an article titled “Strong Sales of U.S. Brands Including Apple Give China Bargaining Chips in Trade Row.”

The article, reprinted from a sister newspaper, went on: “China doesn’t want to close its doors to Apple despite the trade conflict, but if the U.S. company wants to earn good money in China, it needs to share its development dividends with the Chinese people.”

The article in the Communist Party’s—and therefore, China’s—most authoritative publication added one more implied threat: “It is impractical and unreasonable to kick the company out of China, but if Apple wants to continue raking in enormous profits from the Chinese markets amid trade tensions, the company needs to do more to share the economic cake with local Chinese people.”

In a country filled with customers crazy for Apple products, the only way the American brand would become a target of ire is if the political leadership was determined to make it so, as Beijing has done with other foreign businesses. Chinese officials have organized protests against a host of Japanese companies and, more recently, Lotte Group, the South Korean retail and tourism conglomerate.

I know China is an enemy and they should be countered, but this is the inherent problem with trade wars: reciprocation. Now Apple, a bystander company if you will, might be caught in the cross fire and what did they do to deserve this? And if hits them hard in the wallet and they have to go up on the price of iPhones (and other products), it will not only hurt sales, it will hurt American consumers as well.

Ugh.


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