The CCP paper Global Times (May 15) threatened the US with a series of countermeasures if the US went ahead with plans to block shipments of semiconductors to Chinese telecom firm Huawei. It warned these could include putting US companies on an "unreliable entity list," launching investigations and imposing restrictions on US companies such as Qualcomm, Cisco and Apple, and halting purchase of Boeing airplanes. Global Times quoted an insider who it said preferred to remain anonymous as saying "China will launch rounds of endless investigations on those firms, just like swords hanging over their head. It will dampen investors' confidence and squeeze their income in the Chinese market." This is the second time in two days that China has threatened to hit back against the US and the very first time government sources mentioned specific US companies as targets. He Weiwen, a former senior trade official and an Executive Council Member of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies, told Global Times  "China should implement these countermeasures to the extent that the US dare not ask for a mile after being given an inch." He advised China to carry out "thorough investigations into relevant US companies and "let them feel the pain." The chip industry is one of the top US exporters and one of the few sectors that still generates a trade surplus, largely driven by sales growth in China, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal noted that the chip industry is one of the top US exporters and one of the few sectors that still generates a trade surplus, largely driven by sales growth in China. It said a potential chip sales ban could cost US chip makers about $36 billion in revenue. Similarly, if China were to scrap all the current Boeing orders, even if it means some Chinese firms have to pay for the liquidated damages, Boeing, which is already on the verge of bankruptcy, could only resort to US government for help. It said China, the world's largest buyer for planes, could order more than 100 planes from the US firm that could worth 30 billion yuan every year. Gao Lingyun, an expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing who is close to Chinese government, said most US companies included in the list may be small-sized US firms that are highly dependent on Chinese companies, such as US trading agencies. "They are vulnerable to restrictive measures. Once Chinese authorities impose sanctions on them, the cost is ill-afforded. Most small firms will be pushed to the brink of collapsing."