In early 2021, the story says, China's President Xi Jinping "sent Howard Schultz a letter encouraging him and Starbucks to 'continue to play an active role' in promoting China trade amid the intensifying tariff war between the U.S. and China. News that Xi had created a direct communication line with a foreign business leader was a shock to the West, particularly because the scoop came from Chinese state media, which made this more akin to an official press statement than a news story. "China business consultant Stone Fish warned at the time that Schultz, who has long cast himself as a centrist unifier, was 'wading into dangerous territory,' that this was an authoritarian strongman asking an American business leader for help with Washington, a move with 'serious strategic, legal, and ethical implications'." You can read the entire piece here.