Washington¡¯s most powerful lobbying firms are rushing to cut ties with Chinese tech giants including Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings as new U.S. restrictions reshape the influence game for many Chinese companies.
Under a law taking effect Tuesday, the Defense Department will be barred from working with any company represented by lobbyists who also work for entities blacklisted by the Pentagon for allegedly aiding China¡¯s military. In practice, the provision is forcing lobbyists to choose between representing Chinese businesses or U.S. defense contractors.
Alibaba just lost five lobbying firms, and Tencent lost four, according to a series of disclosures Monday and over the past week by Washington power players including Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, Mercury Public Affairs?and MO Strategies, all of whom had represented both Chinese tech giants.
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