Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Deglobalization: Chinese State owned firms to sever ties with US consulting firms

Geopolitical strains have begun to spillover into the economic realm.

The Chinese government orders her state owned companies to cut ties with US consulting firms

From Reuters:
China has told its state-owned enterprises to sever links with American consulting firms just days after the United States charged five Chinese military officers with hacking U.S. companies, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.

China's action, which targets companies like McKinsey & Company and The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), stems from fears the firms are providing trade secrets to the U.S. government, the FT reported, citing unnamed sources close to senior Chinese leaders.
These are seeds of protectionism. If there will be more tit-for-tat responses, protectionist policies will spread and swell to cover many economic areas. This implies deglobalization or a potential significant slowdown of global trade and finance or capital flows. Importantly, protectionism increases the risk of a military showdown. 

Very bullish no?

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