Beijing's new weapon in economic war: Chinese tourists

Beijing

SLAPPING import bans on products like mangoes, coal and salmon has long been China's way of punishing countries that refuse to toe its political line.

But Beijing has shown that it can also hurt others by cutting a lucrative Chinese export: tourists who normally flock to South Korea or Taiwan.

China's recent boycott of South Korea over a US anti-missile shield on the Korean peninsula signals a growing aggression in the way it flexes its economic muscles, analysts say.

Bei…