Corporate lawyers such as Dan Harris of US-based Harris Sliwoski are advising clients to start thinking about “asset light” strategies, such as licensing or franchising where appropriate. At the very least, diversification of manufacturing elsewhere in Asia, or even further afield, should be a priority.

Dan Harris, attorney at Harris Sliwoski*, an international law firm that has warned clients on the legality of VIEs for more than a decade, said the Chinese Communist party had “lashed out at big companies and now all signs point to them going after VIEs”.