The Era of the Global Citizen is Over

Alan Pentz, CEO
Washington DC

July 1, 2020 - China’s meteoric rise to world power status has created what I call the Long Competition between China and the U.S. We are now seeing this competition beginning to play out in the business community. North American corporations that considered  themselves less as “American” and more as “global citizens,” are getting a rude awakening in today’s world caught between the U.S.’ Scylla and China’s Charybdis (in other words - a rock and a hard place). 

Being a global citizen was easy during a time of U.S. dominance. Corporations like Google and Amazon rose to prominence before China emerged as a clear competitor. In such an environment, it was easy to expand to other markets. But, that period is over. 

China now poses a clear threat to our technological supremacy, and North American companies must recognize that the balancing act between the U.S. and China is becoming increasingly difficult. In recent years, China has shut Google, Amazon, and Facebook out of their country in favor of their own companies - and it doesn’t stop there.

As countless other companies (from Starbucks to Apple)  have come to realize, such is the new reality of playing “global citizen” between the U.S. and China; you’re damned if you do, and damned if you don’t. The effects of this phenomenon will only accelerate in the post-COVID-19 landscape, as critical supply chains in manufacturing and health care come under the scrutiny of governments worldwide and areas we thought were open to free trade are suddenly very problematic. The more its economy grows, the more China will insist on using its power to try to force Western companies to adopt its message, and Western companies will come under fire from their governments and fellow citizens to resist the pressure. 

This has happened with the NBA in the Darrely Morley case. It’s happening to Zoom as they cut off the accounts of U.S. citizens who dare to engage in conversations the Chinese government disapproves of. It happened with TikTok, now facing the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States investigation. I’m not sure former Disney execs can paper over the fact that Hong Kong protests disappear from the site. In our COVID-19 world, the pressures have intensified. 

Joseph Stalin once said, “If I could control the American motion picture, I would need nothing else to convert the entire world to communism.” China has read its share of history and knows exactly what Stalin meant. However, they’ve also learned that they don’t have to take Hollywood by force. They just have to threaten Hollywood’s global distribution rights, and suddenly there are no Chinese villains in any movies—and Taiwan doesn’t exist.

I don’t blame the companies themselves. They want to make money for their shareholders, and China has plenty of money. But, while they are not in the business of global politics, bipartisan pressure from their home government and increasing demands from the Chinese government will leave many of these companies with no choice but to choose sides. COVID-19 might have shut down international travel, but the Long Competition permanently grounded the global citizen.

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Author

Alan Pentz, CEO and Founder of Corner Alliance, has worked with government leaders in the R&D and innovation communities across DHS, Commerce, NIH, state and local government, and the non-profit sector among others. He has worked in the consulting industry for over ten years with Corner Alliance, SRA, Touchstone Consulting, and Witt O'Brien's. Before consulting, Alan served as a speechwriter and press secretary for former U.S. Senator Max Baucus and as a legislative assistant for former U.S. Representative Paul Kanjorski. He holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

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