America’s commercial sanctions on China could get much worse
And China could retaliate in kind
THE CHINESE custom official’s suspicions were first aroused by the size of the woman’s stomach. She said she was only five to six months pregnant, yet her belly protruded as if she were close to term. When she was searched, her baby bump turned out to be fake. Inside an improvised pouch she was smuggling not drugs or weapons, but computer chips—202 of them. Since America imposed a ban on sales of certain semiconductors and related equipment to Chinese entities last year, firms in China have been running short. Imports have plunged (see chart 1). Entrepreneurial middlemen (and women) have been coming up with all manner of schemes to obtain the desired goods, and to avoid customs duties to boot.
This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “A daunting arsenal”
From the April 1st 2023 edition
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