Pity American firms in China. Xi Jinping is hitting back

FOR decades, politicians in Washington might have been mistaken for lobbyists for American companies in China. They pushed for the country to be opened up to American banks, planes and fast-food chains. Boeing, an American plane manufacturer, for example, began receiving orders from China just after Richard Nixon visited the country in 1972.

Now, many American executives in China believe they are witnessing their government dismantle much of that work.

Donald Trump’s heavy use of tariffs is rendering their supply chains untenable. Retaliation by the Chinese government threatens to unwind years of commercial success.