Air Canada, Lufthansa and British Airways are among airlines that have begun referring to Taiwan explicitly as a part of China, despite the White House’s call this month to stand firm against such demands by China. Associated Press found 20 carriers, including Air Canada, Lufthansa, British Airways, Finnair, Garuda Indonesia, Asiana Airlines and Philippine Airlines, that now refer to Taiwan as a part of China.

If airlines refuse to adjust the wording, they may face consequences that some say could cripple their China business. The spread of “Taiwan, China” on the drop-down menus and maps of airline websites represents an alignment with the wishes of Chinese President Xi Jinping for foreign companies to conform to China’s geopolitical vision. As China steps up efforts to isolate Taiwan diplomatically, the list of multinationals that have adopted Beijing’s position is long, and growing. U.S. clothing retailer The Gap apologized this month for selling T-shirts with a map of China that omitted Taiwan, and pulled the offending merchandise from stores around the world. In January, Delta Air Lines, Marriott, Zara and Medtronic all publicly apologized for referring to Taiwan as a country.

“You can’t just say ‘no’,” said Carly Ramsey, a regulatory risk specialist at Control Risks, a consultancy in Shanghai. “Increasingly, for situations like this, non-compliance is not an option if you want to do business in and with China.” On April 25, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) sent a letter to 36 foreign airlines ordering them to explicitly refer to Taiwan as a part of China. In a strongly worded statement 10 days later, the White House called that demand “Orwellian nonsense”.

China’s Foreign Ministry hit back the next day, saying Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are “inalienable” parts of China’s territory and foreign companies operating in China “should respect China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, abide by China’s laws and respect the national sentiment of the Chinese people”. Major U.S. carriers have not yet changed their wording, the South China Morning Post reports. “For most carriers, their China routes are much more important revenue contributors and higher growth markets compared to Taiwan so it makes commercial sense for them to comply, even if it offends Taiwan,” said Corrine Png, Chief Executive of transport research firm Crucial Perspective.

On May 25 the CAAC extended the deadline to comply to July 25 after a majority of carriers said they needed more time to iron out technical problems. Only 18 of the 44 companies it contacted last month had so far complied with its request to make clear that Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao are all parts of China.