Song Guoyou and Liu Yahan，Exit Costs， Strategic Autonomy， and the Strategic Choices of Transnational Corporations in U. S. Allied Countries，Journal of Contemporary Asia-Pacific Studies，No.5，2026
Abstract:
Transnational corporations have become important actors in international politics and great－power competition. U. S. strategic competition with China has placed relevant transnational corporations under enormous pressure and confronted them with difficult choices，yet existing research has paid insufficient attention to the strategic choices of transnational corporations in the era of strategic competition. Drawing on panel data of 23 large transnational corporations from U. S. allied countries over 2019－2023，this article examines the logic of their strategic choices in their China operations. It finds that exit costs and strategic autonomy are the main factors shaping the strategic choices of transnational corporations，which differ markedly across industries. For strategic enterprises，the strategic autonomy of the allied country is the primary determinant: strategic enterprises in allied countries with strong strategic autonomy enjoy ample political support and are more inclined to adopt a stabilization strategy to deepen their operations in China; strategic enterprises in allied countries with weak strategic autonomy will also adopt a stabilization strategy if their exit costs are high，but will pursue a contraction strategy，scaling back their operations，if their exit costs are low. For non－strategic enterprises，exit costs are the primary factor shaping their strategic choices: those with high exit costs adopt a stabilization strategy，while the behavioral choices of those with low exit costs are shaped by the allied country’s strategic autonomy. The article uses large transnational corporations from U. S. allied countries，including Sanofi，Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix，BHP，Siemens，and Subaru Group，as cases to corroborate these arguments.
Key Words:
China－U. S. Ｒelations; Transnational Corporations; Exit Costs; Strategic Autonomy; U. S. Allies
