Whack-a-mole no way to do business

For years, Washington's China policy has oscillated between two instincts: the desire to contain a strategic rival and the recognition that the world's two largest economies remain deeply intertwined.

Reports suggesting that the US administration has held off placing more than 100 Chinese entities — including AI startup DeepSeek and memory-chip champion CXMT — on the US Commerce Department's Entity List suggest that, at least for now, the second instinct has the upper hand.

That restraint comes only days after the Pentagon expanded its own blacklist of alleged Chinese military-linked companies, reportedly adding Chinese companies such as Alibaba, Baidu and BYD.

The US Entity List process is like a game of whack-a-mole. Every few months, another set of Chinese companies appears on a list. The lists grow longer, compliance costs rise, and businesses struggle to determine which activities remain permissible.

The US business community has made it clear that it doesn't want to play that game.

The 2026 American Business in China White Paper, released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China, emphasizes that the US has a responsibility to support a constructive and stable commercial relationship with China through balanced and pragmatic policies.

According to the white paper, 83 percent of surveyed member companies regard positive US-China relations as crucial to their China operations. Their top concern is no longer bilateral tensions themselves but the unpredictability created by escalating tariffs, expanding export controls and abrupt policy changes.

Their complaint should be primarily attributed to the US side's unilateral moves and protectionist practices against China. As China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian, said in response to the Pentagon's blacklist expansion, the US was overstretching the concept of national security and using discriminatory lists to suppress Chinese companies.

The latest decision, which Reuters reports is due to US officials fearing further listings could unnecessarily escalate tensions with Beijing at a delicate moment in bilateral relations, reflects a reality that Washington often struggles to acknowledge: there is a difference between genuine national security protection and an ever-expanding sanctions bureaucracy.

That message was echoed during the meeting between China's International Trade Representative and Vice-Commerce Minister Li Chenggang and a delegation led by AmCham China Chairman James Zimmerman and President Michael Hart in Beijing on Wednesday.

Li noted that recent high-level engagement between Beijing and Washington had helped establish a more constructive framework for bilateral relations. He stressed that seven rounds of economic consultations had produced positive outcomes benefiting both countries and their business communities, while reiterating that China's door would only open wider.

Washington's decision to pause another round of listings is therefore more than a bureaucratic footnote. It is a reminder that restraint can sometimes serve national interests better than escalation. The question is whether US policymakers are prepared to build on that insight rather than draw up another blacklist.