Tech firms caught in US-China geopolitical chess game

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Hello reader,

Geopolitical tensions have always had the potential to make things awkward for businesses.

Take the Russia-Ukraine war for example. In Russia, fast-food chain McDonald’s (MCD, NYSE) and coffee giant Starbucks (SBUX, NDAQ) had to shut down hundreds of outlets while pulling out.

And the war had implications across segments, from lifestyle to commodities. Cosmetics brands like L’Oreal (OR, EPA) and Estee Lauder (EL, NYSE) pulled out. Fast-fashion retailers including H&M (HM-B, STO) and luxury houses such as Burberry (BRBY, LON) have temporarily halted operations in Russia. In oil and gas, Shell (SHEL, LON) was among the companies having pledged to cut its investments in Russia.

And the tech world was no exception – Apple (AAPL, NDAQ) chose to leave, while Facebook (META, NDAQ) got blocked.

Moving east, this week, my colleague Melissa looks at how the cold war between the US and China has impacted tech companies like ultra-fast fashion titan Shein and TikTok owner ByteDance.

— Rachel

THE BIG STORY

Mapping the tech firms ensnared in rising US-China tensions

Image credit: Timmy Loen

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Photo credit: Josh Appel / Unsplash

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