Member Survey 2025

The US-China Business Council conducted its annual Member Survey in spring 2025. This report on survey findings seeks to measure business sentiment and benchmark challenges, solutions, and opportunities in the China market today. Our survey is unique among trade associations in that it incorporates responses from US company representatives in both the United States and China.

Executive Summary

US-China relations and tariffs are the top concerns of US companies doing business in China. US-China relations continue to top the list of business challenges, and tariffs jumped from eighth to second place amid renewed trade frictions. Companies’ first priority for the bilateral negotiations that kicked off in May is tariff reduction.

Chinese industrial policies are boosting local competitors as American companies continue to lose market share in China. Nearly one third of respondents reported declining market share as the Chinese government intensified its rollout of industrial policies and subsidies designed to boost domestic firms.

 Export controls and investment restrictions are reshaping US business operations in China. Around 40% of companies report negative effects from US export control policies, with many experiencing lost sales, severed customer relationships, and reputational damage in China due to the intensifying perception that US firms are unreliable suppliers.

China’s slowing economy is amplifying structural weaknesses and suppressing profitability. Once mostly confined to industrial sectors, overcapacity has begun to impact wider swaths of the economy, including health care and consumer goods. Insufficient domestic demand and overcapacity remain the top constraints on profitability.

Profits are stable, but confidence in future performance is declining. While 82% of companies reported profits in 2024, fewer than half are optimistic about the future, reflecting concerns over tariffs, deflation, and policy uncertainty.

While most US companies are holding off on new investments in the near term, they remain committed to pursuing opportunities in China over the long term. Over 80% of respondents say they invest in China to serve the domestic market, while nearly all report that they cannot remain globally competitive without their China operations.