China Ready to Step Up Scrutiny of U.S. Firms If Trump Starts Feud: Sources

https://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2017-01-06/china-said-to-mull-scrutiny-of-u-s-firms-if-trump-starts-feud-ixl2je3s?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%201.6.17&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

• Options include antitrust, tax probes of American companies
• Tension has been building in run-up to Trump’s inauguration

China Said to Mull U.S. Firm Scrutiny

China is prepared to retaliate should President-elect Donald Trump take punitive measures against Chinese goods and trigger a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies, according to people familiar with the matter.
Options include subjecting well-known U.S. companies or ones with large Chinese operations to tax or antitrust probes, said the people, asking not to be identified because the matter isn’t public. Other possible measures include anti-dumping investigations and scaling back government purchases of American products, the people said.
The move illustrates how the fallout from escalating tensions between the two nations risks spreading to companies. Trump has made China a frequent target of his attacks and nominated trade-related officials who the Communist Party’s Global Times newspaper said would form an "iron curtain" of protectionism.