After Nvidia and Google were investigated by China for suspected violations of antitrust laws, the Wall Street Journal quoted sources as reporting that Chinese officials are drawing up a list of U.S. technology companies that may become targets of antitrust investigations and other actions, including Apple, Broadcom and semiconductor design software supplier Synopsys.
The report quoted people familiar with Beijing's strategy as saying that the purpose of expanding the investigation list is to gather as much leverage as possible in the expected negotiations with the Trump administration on U.S.-China issues, including U.S. President Trump's measures to impose tariffs on Chinese goods. People familiar with the matter said that China is targeting Apple, Broadcom and Synopsys Technology, among which Synopsys has a US$35 billion (approximately HK$273 billion) acquisition pending approval from Beijing.
The report quoted Tom Nunlist, a science and technology policy expert from the consulting firm TriviumChina, as pointing out that China needs to gain leverage to fight back against the United States, and antitrust is the most useful tool among them. “China is gathering leverage. They hope that when they sit down at the negotiating table, they will have China Energy has cards to play.” However, Nunlist admits that this strategy also has risks, because compared to Trump’s previous term, American companies are now less willing to stand up for China, and such threats may be counterproductive and may make companies even more reluctant to invest in China.