How Global Brands Can Tough It Out in China
It’s in for a rough and probably costly ride but, if the company hangs tight, Beijing often settles for commercial rather than political interests.
Swept up in a war of words.
Photographer: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images AsiaPacFor chief executives around the world, watching the Chinese government go after Swedish clothier Hennes & Mauritz AB is excruciating — facing the evaporation of your hard-won China business over political issues largely out of your control. But it could be the new normal. As relations between China and the U.S. and its allies deteriorate, Western businesses could increasingly get dragged into the fray.
There’s no easy way for executives to handle such a predicament, but the best option is to call China’s bluff – in part because there is little other choice, but also because ultimately, the Beijing government has a tendency to favor commercial over ideological interests.