Chinese market remains promising for U.S. firms

The majority of U.S. companies surveyed are optimistic on China’s business outlook for the next two years, while many believe that succeeding in China is vital to their longterm global competitiveness, according to survey results recently released by the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

The survey, conducted between April 18 and 20, found China’s business outlook to be more promising compared with the results of its previous survey published in early March. Thanks to the country’s fast economic recovery, 59% of the respondents reported a positive outlook, an increase of 22 percentage points compared with the previous results.

About 73% of the respondents have no plans to relocate their supply chains, even though bilateral tensions continue to pose a significant business challenge for them, according to the survey, which drew responses from 109 companies with operations throughout China.

Colm Rafferty, chairman of AmCham China, said that China remains an important and vibrant market for U.S. companies, given its size as the world’s second-largest economy, with domestic consumption increasingly driven by a sizable and affluent middleincome group.

The survey found that the Yangtze River Delta region, the Guangdong-Hong KongMacao Greater Bay Area and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, as well as the Hainan Free Trade Port, are the most attractive locations for planned investment by U.S. companies.

“China remains the elevator industry’s largest new equipment market, with substantial opportunities for service businesses. The country is a very strong long-term market for many U.S. businesses, with continuing urbanization, infrastructure building and urban renewal,” said Judy Marks, chairwoman, president and CEO of Otis Worldwide Corp.

AmCham China’s survey found that deteriorating ChinaU.S. relations present the most pressing concerns for U.S. companies operating in China, with pessimistic sentiment growing in recent months.

Their views on the bilateral relationship have worsened, with the percentage of respondents expressing a pessimistic opinion increasing from 73% in the chamber’s previous survey to 87% in this survey.

Healthy economic and trade ties can create more opportunities for collaboration between U.S. and Chinese companies in the years ahead, particularly in the areas of healthcare, agriculture and automobile manufacturing, said Sang Baichuan, dean of the Institute of International Economy at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing.