Chinese companies operating in the United States see the general business climate as neutral and stable. Many expect to further expand their U.S. operations, according to a survey released in New York on June 8.
About 87 percent of the 213 Chinese companies that responded to the questionnaire either maintained or increased their profit margins in 2016, which demonstrates an increased ability to generate earnings and manage expenses in a highly competitive market, noted the survey on Chinese enterprises in the U.S., which was administered by the China General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC).
A high percentage of Chinese firms don't feel that Washington enforces rules and implements policies in a biased way. However, the review of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) remains a concern for Chinese firms, and more respondents in the technology sector said they perceived a bias.
A quarter of the surveyed firms consider the CFIUS review to be "politicized and opaque." CFIUS does not appear to be a major investment barrier for most respondents, but its impact falls disproportionately on large, covered transactions, which can have long-term implications on China-U.S. business relations, and which also reflect negatively on the long-standing U.S. policy to keep an open market, the survey said.
The survey additionally found that the recent political transition in the United States put China-U.S. relations, especially bilateral trade and investment, at a crossroads. Uncertainties about the China-U.S. relationship have replaced high labor costs as the top concern for Chinese companies doing business in the United States.
Xu Chen, chairman of CGCC and president and CEO of Bank of China USA, said the business foundation for Chinese firms in the U.S. is sound, which has helped to defuse political tensions that occasionally surface in the bilateral relationship, according to China Daily.
