... The PRC has helped fuel the boom in Chinese gamblers to Las Vegas. The government’s active promotion of private capitalism and state construction projects has created a growing middle class. The PRC’s easing of travel restrictions has allowed more and more non-wealthy Chinese to travel. The size of China’s population and the Chinese love for gambling led to this startling headline in the China Daily: “7,000-strong tour group breaks record in US trip.”[20] The eight-day trip required more than 70 flights from the Mainland, and the group was expected to fill more than 30 hotels. Destinations included southern California and, of course, Las Vegas.
So, today it is not only Macau, but also Las Vegas, that would suffer greatly if the PRC decided, once again, to make it difficult for tourists to leave the Mainland, or to travel to the U.S., or even just to Nevada.
Restrictions on tourism involving gaming is a natural target for China to retaliate against Trump. Everyone here and in Asia still associates the Trump name with casinos. He owns a large hotel in Las Vegas. And two of his top supporters, Steve Wynn and Sheldon Adelson, would be severely hurt if Chinese Mainlanders could not gamble in Macau and Las Vegas.
I personally think if Trump continues to cause Chinese officials to lose face, the first retaliation will probably be something bigger and more dramatic against U.S. economic interests. Boeing is America’s largest exporter.[21] One-quarter of its sales are to China. 150,000 Americans would instantly lose their jobs if China cancelled its orders for Boeing’s jets.[22] And Boeing has a non-American competitor which can fill those orders, Airbus...
