A significant rise in optimism among U.S. businesses in Shanghai regarding their business prospects
According to a report by Reuters (Japanese edition) on September 11: A survey released on the 10th revealed that U.S. companies operating in China are becoming increasingly optimistic about their future business outlook. Last year, amid political tensions, intense competition in China's domestic market, and slowing economic growth, expectations among U.S. firms in China had declined.
According to the annual survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, whose members are all U.S. enterprises established in Shanghai, 58% of companies expressed optimism about their business prospects over the next five years—up 17 percentage points from last year—marking a reversal of four consecutive years of historically low sentiment.
Following the truce in the trade war at the end of last year and the subsequent stabilization of Sino-U.S. relations, American businesses have regained confidence. With another high-level summit between China and the U.S. scheduled for this month, the business community is hopeful for further improvement in bilateral ties.
Jeffrey Leeman, Chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, stated: "The atmosphere among our member companies has changed." The previous year’s survey was conducted during the resurgence of the trade conflict, whereas this year’s survey was carried out just before the upcoming leaders’ summit—the second such meeting following the successful May summit. "The agreement reached by both leaders on strategic stability based on fairness and reciprocity, as well as a constructive relationship, has brought immense reassurance to all member companies. I believe this has contributed significantly to the positive outcomes observed in this survey," he analyzed.
The return of optimism is also attributed to the strong performance of businesses themselves. In the annual report titled "China Business Report" released by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai, 262 companies were surveyed, with approximately 78% reporting profitability in China last year—the highest level since 2019.
The primary concern has shifted from cross-border tensions to internal competition within the Chinese market. 68% of respondents identified fierce competition in China’s market as their biggest business challenge.
The proportion of companies viewing China’s regulatory environment as transparent increased by 7 percentage points to reach 55%. Meanwhile, 39% of companies anticipate that the regulatory environment will become more open and transparent in the future.
In 2025, 28% of companies increased their investment in China, setting a record high over the past four years. Additionally, 31% of companies said they plan to increase investments in 2026, while only 14% expect to reduce their investments.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1875987664343052/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.