China Humiliates Another Western Company

Perhaps most concerning, China has taken a particular interest in changing the fundamental way Western technology companies function.Facebook , banned in China since 2009, has worked on a “targeted censorship” tool during its bid to re-enter the country. Apple agreed to a partnership with a Chinese internet service company, effectively sharing user data with the government. There is no way either company would accept such demands from the U.S. government.

Some Western corporate leaders argue that running away from China makes no sense. “We believe in engaging with governments even when we disagree,” Apple CEO Tim Cook said last year. But engagement is a two-way street, and Beijing has shown no willingness to accommodate. Instead it has become more intrusive.

China’s behavior makes it necessary for Western companies to ask whether the cost of doing business can be too high. Does the profit motive override any responsibility to defend the values of the societies from which they emerged? If only to draw the line against further demands, companies should be reflexively opposed to Beijing’s overreach. Otherwise they should expect the cost of doing business in China to continue to rise.