NBA row heightens foreign companies’ fears they could cross China’s ever-shifting red lines as fallout from Rockets GM’s Hong Kong protest tweet continues
- Firms are becoming increasingly worried that Beijing’s hardline approach means they will find themselves at the centre of a political storm
- Business advisers warn that companies could land themselves in ‘incredible trouble’ when it is hard to know what will anger the government
As the row in China over the NBA continues to rage, foreign businesses in the country are becoming increasingly concerned that they will fall afoul of Beijing’s hardening political line.
Businesses have long been vulnerable to boycotts from Chinese consumers if they become embroiled in controversy – which could range from anything from a dispute about the country’s territorial integrity to adverts seen as racist – but the fallout from the NBA row has heightened their concerns.
Steve Dickinson, a lawyer helping multinationals working in China, said his clients were increasingly nervous about crossing Beijing’s often unpredictable red lines.
“How can you tell thousands of employees that they’re not allowed to post something online. Nobody knows what will set them off, and that is a severe problem,” he said. “You never know what the Chinese government is going to get angry about.”
He said companies would never “do anything intentionally, but use the wrong name or word, and now you’re in incredible trouble”.
The controversy over the NBA started on Saturday, when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted an image that included the words “Fight for freedom. Stand with Hong Kong”.