Page 2 - aruba-today-20240424

A2 u.s. news
Wednesday 24 april 2024

Tensions between Beijing and Washington are the biggest worry

for U.S. companies in China, report says

By ELAINE KURTENBACH rising labor costs and data ers to investment and opera- in November was "looming to be profitable in 2024.
AP Business Writer security issues were other top tions including policies that large" over the future busi- Still, many members of the
Simmering tensions between concerns. It also said that, discriminate against them ness environment. American Chamber said
Beijing and Washington re- despite the insistence of and public relations cam- It's unclear what ramifica- they were more optimistic
main the top worry for Ameri- Chinese leaders that Beijing paigns that create suspicion tions a victory for either Biden about growth of China's own
can companies operating in welcomes foreign business- of foreigners," the report said. or former President Donald economy. Among its many
China, according to a report es, many still are hindered The report welcomed an Trump might have for rela- recommendations the report
by the American Chamber from free competition. improvement in relations tions. But Trump could deep- urged China to create and
of Commerce in China re- "The Chinese government in 2023 that was capped en a trade war he started implement "transparent and
leased Tuesday. has stated that it encourag- by summit meetings of Chi- during his first term. His tough practical economic policies
The survey of U.S. companies es foreign direct investment, nese leader Xi Jinping and rhetoric on China and isola- which treat domestic and
said inconsistent and unclear but many of our members President Joe Biden, but said tionist approach to foreign foreign entities equally."
policies and enforcement, continue to encounter barri- the U.S. presidential election policy could ramp up uncer- Referring to concerns that
tainties. More recently, U.S. business people are at risk
Treasury Secretary Janet Yel- of being caught up in ac-
len visited Beijing, where she cusations they have violated
raised concerns that poten- China's national security, it
tial overcapacity in Chinese also appealed to China's
industries — such as electric leaders to clarify and narrow
vehicles, steel making and the scope of the country's
solar panels — might crowd anti-espionage law to pre-
out U.S. and other foreign vent it from interfering with
manufacturers. normal business operations.
The fact that such visits are Such requests follow repeat-
taking place shows "that on ed raids on foreign compa-
difficult issues, the two gov- nies that Chinese authorities
ernments are talking and say were conducted on na-
they're able to do so in a tional security grounds. Raids
way that's not acrimonious. on consulting companies
So that was very positive," also tend to hinder foreign
said the chamber's chair, companies from assessing
Sean Stein. the business environment,
The Chamber sees high-level leaving less willing to invest,
exchanges and communi- said Lester Ross, a co-chair of
cation between the two the chamber's policy com-
sides as a top priority, the mittee.
report said. The report also had recom-
American businesses are mendations for the U.S. side,
frustrated by slow progress including providing clear visa
on promises by China to policies for Chinese students
level the playing field be- to show they will be wel-
tween foreign and Chinese comed. Similarly, American
companies, the report said. students should be encour-
Meanwhile, heightened U.S. aged to study in China, the
export controls and other report said.
restrictions have raised the It also called on U.S. officials
costs of doing business. to avoid resorting to unilat-
"So the end result is compa- eral controls that may be
nies are getting squeezed ineffective and fail to meet
between the two govern- goals for national security
ments, and on the regula- and foreign policy. Wash-
tory front, what we're seeing ington should engage with
is it's not getting easier to do Chinese companies to allow
business in China; it's getting them to address export con-
harder," Stein said. trol concerns such as military
American companies oper- use of civilian technologies
ating in China saw improved before the companies are
profits last year, though subjected to sanctions, it
slightly less than half expect said.q