Disney-Fox and United Technologies-Rockwell Collins could face scrutiny from Beijing, but it is not clear if regulators are affected by trade tensions.
Qualcomm, the American chip maker, spent two years hammering out a $44 billion deal to acquire a Dutch semiconductor manufacturer. Then, as the trade war with the United States erupted, Chinese regulators effectively killed it.
Now China is looking for new ways to retaliate in the intensifying trade drama — and experts warn that some corporate deals with American buyers could be in jeopardy.
A number of global deals involving American companies are under review by Chinese market regulators. Among the biggest is Walt Disney Company’s $71 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox, which has an Oct. 19 deadline. United Technologies — owner of Pratt & Whitney, the jet engine maker, and other industrial businesses — is waiting to close a $30 billion purchase of Rockwell Collins, the aerospace parts maker.
China’s antitrust regulators disclose little about their deliberations. But some companies worry that this opacity could provide cover for retaliation in response to tariffs that the United States has placed on Chinese goods — and wonder if long-negotiated deals could become collateral damage in the trade war.
“Given the level of trade tensions now, in some exceptional cases you cannot exclude the possibility that individual transactions may be implicated,” said Fay Zhou, a partner at the law firm Linklaters in Beijing.
Officials at China’s antimonopoly agency, the State Administration for Market Regulation, did not respond to requests for comment.
American companies have prospered by exploring new markets and taking risks to extend their global reach. But President Trump warned last week that these were early days in his trade strategy — “China wants to talk, very badly, and I said, ‘Frankly, it’s too early to talk’ ” — and American companies may encounter some backlash from Beijing.
China is looking for ways to retaliate because it has more or less run out of American imports to tax. China matched Mr. Trump’s initial tariffs on about $50 billion in Chinese goods, but last month he placed a 10 percent tax on $200 billion of Chinese goods. China doesn’t import enough from the United States to match that dollar for dollar.
So China has only so many avenues to inflict pain. They could include slow inspections for imports at Chinese ports and tighter regulatory scrutiny of American companies doing business in China.
Deals are a ripe area, too.
