US firms in China say vague rules, tensions with Washington, hurting business, survey shows

By ELAINE KURTENBACH
AP Business Writer

An American Chamber of Commerce survey shows American companies operating in China view tensions with Washington over technology, trade and other issues as a major competitive obstacle for their businesses there. The annual survey released Tuesday showed sentiment worsened from last year, when companies still were experiencing disruptions from “zero-COVID” policies that caused parts of entire cities, transport networks and travel to be shut down, sometimes for weeks at a time. While 52% of those surveyed said they were optimistic about their five-year business outlook in China, that was the lowest figure since the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai began the survey in 1999.