Lawyers buckle; Wolf Warriors snarl; Greenland’s earthquake
Hello, and welcome to China Influence Monitor, a weekly newsletter published by CEPA and Coda Story and edited by me, Edward Lucas. We track the westward footprint of China’s influence operations, and their effects on politics, economies, societies and alliances across Central Asia, the Caucasus, Russia and Europe.
TAKING INSTRUCTIONS
London lawyers and the world’s apparel industry are learning the same hard lesson about doing business with China: loyalty is expected and disobedience punished. Brands such as H&M have seen their business there obliterated overnight after quibbling about cotton from the repressively ruled western region that the Beijing authorities call “New Frontier” — Xinjiang.
The stark choice is: lose your market in China or your reputation in the West.