Jul. 1 – The results of the latest European Chamber Business Confidence Survey show that companies remain confident on the potential of the Chinese markets; with plans to continue investment in the country.
The annual survey is the sixth to date and tallies answers from more than 300 European companies working in the country. It was done by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China with the cooperation of the Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Greater China.
In a nutshell, it revealed that European businesses were adversely affected by the credit crisis but that their domestic losses were offset by their Chinese operations. The survey showed that 71 percent of European companies feel that the Chinese economy is more resilient than Europe or other traditionally strong markets.
It is no surprise then that European companies here consider China as an important part of their global strategy. These companies said they are willing to invest more in the country if the government continues to work on developing a free, fair and competitive market.
Less than a third of those surveyed said that they will be holding back plans to invest in China. Interestingly enough though, a majority of the respondents do not believe that China can drive the world to recovery in the short term while 48 percent said that China would be the driver of global growth in the long term.
Joerg Wuttke, President of the European Chamber, said in a statement: “Our members welcome the stimulus package and the Chinese government’s efforts to sustain growth. But they clearly feel that not enough has been done to unleash the potential of China’s economy.”
“They identify the promotion of more free competition and the breaking down of existing monopolies as the key actions needed to drive growth, and continue to caution against protectionist reactions that would hamper China’s development. In this regard, the European Chamber is not asking for priority to be given to foreign companies – we want to see equal opportunities and a level playing field for all businesses in China.”
The survey was done by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China with the cooperation of the Roland Berger Strategy Consultants Greater China.
