China Denies Coke's Bid For Huiyan Juice

We've been writing since 2006 that we were going to enter a period of rising nationalism. It has been slow to develop but it's coming. The first measurable instances are the involvement of governments in financial markets. And, before this cycle is over, nationalism will be a force majeure.

We are seeing tinges of nationalism often disguised by other venues or circumstances but one such blatant example is China's refusal to allow Coke to buy Huiyan Juice. The denial was officially based on the grounds of monopoly status. And, the language was really quite pretty. But, be clear. This is rising nationalism. I am a firm believer in monopoly statutes being enforced but this example is beyond silly. While most people inaccurately consider China to be comparable to the U.S. in its embrace of capitalism, it is estimated that 80% of China's domestic output is controlled by the state or state-owned enterprise. Maybe that number is off by 10-20% but it makes a point. Monopoly is fine in China as long as it's a monopoly by the state.

Obviously, we we see similar behavior in Britain, Germany, France, Canada, Russia and the U.S. as examples but I found this particular example to be of great irony.