U.S. companies counting on China for a major part of their growth have targets on their backs as Beijing and Washington ratchet up trade-war tensions.
President Donald Trump's decision to blacklist Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese maker of smartphones, while also threatening bans on other Chinese technology companies, could open the door to retaliation against U.S. brands from hotels to sportswear to even Captain America. State media last week said China is "well armed to deliver counterpunches," without giving specific details.
As companies await China's next move, there is uncertainty about what form retaliation might take. Companies might "just have to read the tea leaves on how their business operations are being treated," Erin Ennis, senior vice president of the U.S.-China Business Council, said in an interview on Saturday.