With great drama playing out over whether the world will stage diplomatic boycotts of the Winter Games in February and whether tennis star Peng Shuai will be allowed to emerge from isolation, the Chinese government is openly telling American companies they should lobby the U.S. government to not take any steps that would hurt the companies’ interests in China. This is the latest from the South China Morning Post via the Sinocism news letter:
Foreign vice-minister Xie Feng, who is in charge of US affairs, laid out Beijing’s requests during a virtual meeting on Tuesday with key US business lobby groups, including the American Chamber of Commerce in China.
Representatives from the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, the US-China Business Council and various state-level bilateral associations were also present, according to an account posted on the Chinese foreign ministry’s website.
Xie praised the American groups for their commitment and contribution to friendly relations in the past, especially when bilateral ties were in trouble, and urged them to be the “guardians” of US-China cooperation.
“It’s good to enjoy the shade under the big tree,” he said. But warned that if relations between the two countries deteriorate, the business community could not expect to make money while remaining silent.
