What Happened: China's aviation regulator warned July 26 that four U.S. airlines have not fully complied with Beijing's demands to explicitly refer to Taiwan as a part of China, the South China Morning Post reported.
Why It Matters: Beijing is leveraging its global market force to force businesses to conform to its strategic objective to one day reincorporate Taiwan into China.
Background: China views Taiwan as a wayward province that it hopes to one day reunify with the mainland, spurring Beijing to exert its influence against countries or businesses that recognize Taiwan as an independent entity.
Read More:
- China's Unlikely Weapon: Tourists (July 9, 2018)
- China Grows Anxious About Taiwan Reunification (June 12, 2018)
- Taiwan Is Thrust Into an Unwanted Spotlight (Feb. 7, 2018)