A decade ago, any big company without a robust China strategy was considered to be missing the boat. Today, many are scrambling to get out of that boat. Rising intervention in the private sector by the Chinese Communist Party, growing sanctions against China in the U.S., the risk of conflict across the Taiwan Strait, and squeezed profit margins attributable, in part, to tougher competition from Chinese companies, have all combined to create a rush to “derisk” China business as fast as possible.

But as Fortune’s Geoff Colvin and veteran consultant Ram Charan report in a story for this month’s Fortune magazine, that’s easier said than done. The two talked with dozens of CEOs, CFOs and others doing business with China and found the derisking race is moving slower than expected. In some cases, that’s because China is the only credible source of supply—think batteries or solar panels. In others, it’s because it’s by far the least expensive producer. And in still others, it’s that China’s consumer market is too big to walk away from. “It’s not that I love China,” the recently retired chief of one U.S. heavy equipment manufacturer told Colvin and Charan. “It’s because that’s the only place I can buy a given part at anything close to the price I have today.” Says another, “I’ve got 20% of my business in China. I can’t get out.”

Still, most executives agree there is good reason to diversify—especially if you are in a strategically sensitive industry. That includes exports being controlled by the U.S. government—semiconductors, AI, robotics, biotech—as well as areas deemed high priority by the Chinese government—pharmaceuticals, aerospace, electronics, and renewable energy. There are exceptions. “We’re incredibly bullish on the opportunity,” McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski told Fortune. “There’s no reason China couldn’t be our largest market.” But most others are finding that, as one analyst put it, “they have a lot more China vulnerability than they thought.”

You can read the full story here.

And here’s the question for the day: Which gives a bigger lift to a city’s economy, the Super Bowl or a Taylor Swift concert? Answer: It’s still the Super Bowl, but not by much. According to Bank of America, Swift’s Eras Tour concerts generated an average of $77 in spending at restaurants and $56 at bars…just slightly behind the $96 and $74 spend spurred by Super Bowl LVII. This year, maybe Las Vegas will get the best of both.

More news below.

Alan Murray
@alansmurray
alan.murray@fortune.com

TOP NEWS

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AROUND THE WATERCOOLER

Commentary: Employees are spending the equivalent of a month’s grocery bill on the return to the office–and growing more resentful than ever, new survey finds by Christine Carter, Erin Eatough, Kristi Leimgruber, and Khoa Le Nguyen

DataSnipper, startup that uses AI to eliminate some of the ‘dread’ in accounting, is valued at $1 billion in latest funding round by Jeremy Kahn

Tim Cook pitches Apple’s new Vision Pro headset as a must-have for businesses despite augmented reality’s checkered history in the workplace by Rachyl Jones

Barstool Sports’ CEO built a $250 million media empire—but she doesn’t think it’s replicable by Emma Burleigh

Commentary: The Biden administration’s freeze on LNG projects is a gift to Putin by Mike Sommers

ByteDance CEO is mad at his employees for missing the AI wave. He’s the latest Chinese tech executive to fret about being too slow to adapt by Lionel Lim

This edition of CEO Daily was curated by Nicholas Gordon.