The latest strike in the trade battle between the US and China has landed, literally, on the desks of Chinese government offices and public bodies. Beijing has ordered the removal of foreign computer equipment and software within three years. Chinese buyers will have to switch to domestic technology vendors. The policy edict is not a surprise: Chinese technology companies, notably Huawei, have been among the chief targets of the trade dispute with the US. The move is a pre-emptive defence to protect China’s domestic supply base. Washington, driven by security and economic concerns, this year banned US businesses from doing business with Huawei.
美中貿易戰中的最新攻勢已從中國政府機關和公共機構的辦公桌上展開。北京下令這些機構在三年內換掉外國的計算機設備和軟件。中國公共領域的買家將不得不轉向國內科技供應商。這項政策詔令并不令人訝異：中國的科技公司，尤其是華為(Huawei)，一直是中美貿易爭端中的主要靶子。這招發先制人的防守是為了保護中國國內科技供應商群體。華盛頓出于安全與經濟方面的擔憂，則于今年早些時候就禁止美國企業與華為開展業務。