This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
On July 16, 2020, US Attorney General William Barr delivered a stark warning to American companies about China's economic ambitions.
Speaking in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Barr described China's approach as an 'economic blitzkrieg' - a whole-of-government and whole-of-society campaign to seize the commanding heights of the global economy.
He accused the Chinese government of using regulations, currency manipulation, intellectual property theft, and state-backed cyber attacks to gain commercial advantage.
"It is clear that the PRC seeks not merely to join the ranks of other advanced industrial economies, but to replace them altogether," Barr said.
He warned that China would take advantage of globalization to spread its political ideology, and that a world dominated by China would not be hospitable to institutions that depend on free markets and free trade.
Barr also criticized major US companies like Apple and Disney for compromising their values and censoring their products to appease Chinese leaders and regulators.
However, he praised technology companies like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Zoom, and LinkedIn for resisting Chinese governmental requests for user data after Beijing imposed a new security law on Hong Kong.
