China is stepping up its policing of international companiessuch as Inditex-owned Zara and Delta Air Lines and demanding theyrespect the government's position on long-standing territorialdisputes from Taiwan to Tibet.

The Cyber Administration Office in Shanghai on Friday said Zaralisted Taiwan, an island that China claims as its own, as aseparate country on its website. On the same day, China's CivilAviation Administration summoned executives of Delta as the carrierlists Taiwan and Tibet, located in western China, as nations on itswebsite. The companies were asked to change the “illegal”contents.

China, emboldened by its growing economic and geopoliticalinfluence, is showing less tolerance of what it sees as violationsof its political bottom line by foreign companies. The warningssignal that the country may deploy more sticks against foreigncompanies that can't risk losing business in the world'ssecond-biggest economy.

“The general political atmosphere these days is that you don'tstand on the wrong side of sovereignty issues in the Xi Jinpingera,” said Ether Yin, partner at research firm Trivium China inBeijing. “The government responded very quickly.”

International companies operating in China should respect itssovereignty and territorial integrity, state broadcaster CCTVreported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang as saying at aregular briefing.

Delta apologized for listing Tibet and Taiwan as countries, andsaid it has corrected the mistakes, according to a statement Fridayon its Chinese-language website. Inditex didn't have an immediatecomment.

Marriott Apology

Earlier this week, Shanghai government agencies summonedMarriott International's executives in China, after thecompany's Chinese-language website listed Tibet and Taiwanunder “nation” and spurred intense online criticism. The companyapologized on Chinese social media platforms. Regulators havestarted an investigation into Marriott for violating local laws onInternet security and advertising.

“The new cyber security law also said that you can't do anythingon the Internet to harm the sovereignty of the country,” said Yin.“This case represents a good opportunity to show they can use thislaw.”

Beijing has been trying to squeeze Taiwanese President TsaiIng-wen, who refused to accept that both sides belong to “OneChina,” its precondition for ties. Since her inauguration, Chinesevisits to Taiwan have fallen significantly and more nations havesevered diplomatic ties with the government in Taipei, in favor ofBeijing.

China issued curbs on South Korea retail and tourism companies,with some of the country's consumers boycotting Korean goods.Ctrip.com International Ltd., China's largest travel website, saidin October the number of tourists using the week-long nationalholiday to visit South Korea plunged 70% this year.

Relations between China and South Korea soured after thegovernment in Seoul agreed in 2016 to let its ally, the U.S.,install a missile-defense system to guard against rockets fired byNorth Korea. China views the so-called Terminal High Altitude AreaDefense system as a threat that will upset the “strategicequilibrium in the region.”

In recent months there have been signs of improving ties. Lastmonth President Xi Jinping held a summit with his Koreancounterpart Moon Jae-in. South Korea announced Friday that twocountries in February will hold the first high-level economic talkssince May 2016.

From: Bloomberg News

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