Panasonic did not become one of the world's largest 100 companies by taking instructions from Chinese bureaucrats. Yet the Japanese electronic goods maker, founded as Matsushita in 1918, finds itself in the uncomfortable position of having to do just that, following a landmark ruling by China's commerce ministry.
Beijing this month fired a warning to acquisition-hungry chief executives across the globe when it demanded that Panasonic divest several coveted assets in Japan, in return for granting local antitrust approval for its proposed $9bn takeover of Sanyo Electric, a domestic rival. The ruling marks the first time that China has used powers introduced in August 2008 to compel disposals outside the mainland as part of an anti-monopoly review. And the message was clear: operating in the world's hottest market can come at considerable cost.
Certainly, China is hardly alone in taking such actions. The US and European Union are among jurisdictions that have used the lure of access to their vast consumer markets to impose conditions on outside companies. US groups including General Electric and Microsoft can testify to several bruising battles with EU competition authorities.