Image Source : China Visual

BEIJING, August 30 (TMTPOST) — According to a survey of some of the largest U.S. companies operating in China, 70 percent of the more than 100 U.S. companies surveyed in China have seen revenue in the Chinese market increase in the past year.

Nearly 80 percent have not moved their supply chains out of China in the past year. However, current challenges such as inbound and outbound travel restrictions and pandemic controls on businesses and employees have also become important factors affecting U.S. companies' investment planning in China.

The U.S.-China Business Council, an unofficial group representing the interests of U.S. companies in China, released its annual survey on China's business environment on Monday, showing that 63 percent of companies surveyed said their profitability in the Chinese market in 2021 would improve compared to the previous year despite the challenges they face. This is the highest percentage in the past 10 years, and 68% of companies surveyed saw growth in total revenue in China. Nearly 50 percent of the companies surveyed saw revenue increases of more than 10 percent.

The U.S.-China Business Council, founded in 1973, includes more than 200 U.S. companies operating in China, which are mainly large U.S. companies that have been in the Chinese market for decades.

The survey was conducted in June of this year with 117 U.S. companies from manufacturing, service, energy, and other industries. Nearly 70 percent of the companies surveyed have been in China for 20 years or more, and 40 percent have revenues of more than $1 billion in China.

The aforementioned results demonstrate the potential for U.S. companies to grow in the Chinese market, according to the report. "Without the ability to penetrate the Chinese market and make a profit, these U.S. companies will be at a disadvantage to their rivals in global competition."

According to the report, China's business environment remains competitive in terms of speed, quantity, quality and manufacturing costs. But the current increasingly challenging business environment is also causing U.S. companies to reconsider their supply chains.

Unscheduled closures and travel restrictions both within and outside the country were the first two of the three challenges selected.

Overall, the top 10 challenges for U.S. companies in China today are business shutdowns, U.S.-China relations, travel restrictions, data, personal information and cybersecurity rules, rising costs, U.S.-China technology decoupling, competition with local Chinese companies, industrial policies, sourcing policies in China, and intellectual property protection.