U.S. Companies Need to Get Tough on China

Facing tariffs on another $200 billion of its exports to the U.S., China is vowing retaliation but also turning for help to old allies: American businessmen and financiers. It’s a familiar role for them — and one they’d be wise to rethink.

In a new charm offensive, Chinese leaders hastily convened a group of high-powered Wall Street executives in Beijing on Sunday and Monday for talks with top officials. The meetings were part of a larger shift in tactics, whereby Chinese policymakers have sought to reassure foreign businesses that their investments in the country are welcome and safe. With the economy slowing, Chinese leaders understandably want to make sure foreign capital keeps flowing. Presumably, the bankers who rushed to Beijing this week used the opportunity to press for wider access to China’s large but still tightly controlled financial sector.