Gala 2024
Confidence in the China Market Falters Amid COVID-19 Restrictions, Geopolitical Tensions
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact in Washington, DC:
Doug Barry ([email protected]; +1-202-429-0340)
Contact in Beijing:
Matt Margulies ([email protected]; +86-10-6512-5854)
WASHINGTON, DC—August 29, 2022—Optimism about the future business outlook in China has dropped to a record low according to an annual membership survey from the US-China Business Council, an organization representing more than 270 US companies that do business in China. That said, companies continued to report strong performance metrics for the last year, with 89 percent saying their China operations are profitable.
China’s COVID-19 containment strategy now poses the top challenge to businesses. Ninety-six percent of companies were negatively impacted by China’s COVID-19 control measures and more than 50 percent say their investment plans were paused, delayed, or canceled as a result. US-China relations continue to rank among companies’ top challenges, along with Chinese policies on issues ranging from data, personal information, and cybersecurity to government procurement and intellectual property.
As a result, the pace of planned new investment by American companies in China is expected to slow next year. However, this may be similar to what occurred in 2020, when companies paused investment temporarily before bouncing back quickly in 2021 once life in China returned to normal after its initial COVID-19 outbreak.
“It is unclear if this pause in future capacity growth is another temporary blip or one point in a longer trend. We certainly see the Chinese government taking steps to prevent a repeat of the Shanghai lockdowns, but the current strategy still leaves a significant amount of uncertainty,” said USCBC President Craig Allen.
“Longstanding challenges with Chinese industrial policy continue, while relatively newer concerns are cropping up and intensifying, such as those related to US-China geopolitical tensions and data security policy, both of which contribute to technological decoupling fears,” he said. “That would not be in anyone’s interest.”
“We worry that the economic relationship, which helps stabilize the overall relationship, isn’t being properly prioritized. At tense times like these, we should capitalize on any opportunity for stability, and USCBC urges both countries to build upon the hard-earned commercial progress achieved over the last several decades and address outstanding barriers to doing business in China.”
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新冠疫情限制和地缘政治紧张态势动摇美资企业对中国市场的信心
2022年8月29日
华盛顿，哥伦比亚特区 – 根据美中贸易全国委员会（USCBC）2022年度的《中国商业环境调查》报告，美资企业对中国未来商业前景的乐观情绪已降至历史新低。尽管如此，受访企业仍表示去年在华业绩强劲，其中百分之八十九的企业表示其中国业务处于盈利状态。美中贸易全国委员会代表超过270家在华运营的美资企业。
中国的新冠肺炎疫情防控策略目前是美国公司面临的首要挑战。百分之九十六的受访企业表示其在华业务都因疫情防控措施而遭受负面影响，一半以上的企业表示他们的投资项目因此暂停、推迟或取消。此外，中美关系仍然是企业面临的最大挑战之一，其他挑战还包括中国在数据、个人信息、网络安全、政府采购，以及知识产权保护等一系列问题上的政策。
因此，美资企业预计将放缓明年在华新投资的步伐。不过，这一情况可能与新冠肺炎疫情大流行伊始的2020年类似：尽管当时企业一度暂停了投资计划，但当2021年中国从最初的疫情影响中恢复常态后，企业投资迅速反弹。
“目前还无法确定企业暂缓投资是属于暂时现象，还是长期趋势中的一个节点。我们当然注意到中国政府正在采取措施，以避免类似上海封控的情况再度发生，但中国目前的新冠疫情防控策略仍给企业运营带来很大的不确定性，”美中贸易全国委员会主席克雷格·艾伦谈到。
“中国产业政策带来的长期挑战仍然存在，新阻力又接踵而至，例如对中美地缘政治紧张态势和数据安全政策的关切，这两者都会引发企业对中美技术脱钩的担忧，”艾伦会长表示：“这不符合任何人的利益。”
“我们担心，有助于稳定中美整体关系的经贸关系目前没有被恰当地放在优先位置。当前，两国关系处于紧张时刻，我们应该抓住任何寻求稳定的机会。两国在过去几十年间取得的经贸成果来之不易，美中贸易全国委员会呼吁在此基础上砥砺前行，为企业在华经营有待解决的障碍寻求突破。”
