British Chamber of Commerce British Business in China: Sentiment Survey 2019-2020

On the afternoon of 12 December, the British Business in China: Sentiment Survey 2019-2020 was officially launched in Shanghai. Over 40 members attended the launch event, where St. John Moore, Chairman of BritCham China, shared the key findings of the survey.

Key takeaways

The Sentiment Survey presented the following observations:

• British businesses are still inherently optimistic in the China market, with over half expressing that they have a positive outlook on their sector for 2020 and are investing accordingly. However, businesses also report that it is becoming harder to do business in the market, and fewer companies are optimistic compared to last year’s survey results.
• Furthermore, over half of British businesses continue to see their operations in China inhibited by market access barriers, and more than a third believe they are not treated equally to domestic firms. The top regulatory challenges facing British businesses this year are:
  • Cybersecurity and IT restrictions
  • Accessing and moving company finances.
  • Competition with SOEs or state-sponsored competition.

In addition to these challenges, British businesses are also concerned about global economic uncertainty and China’s slowing growth, which they believe will have more of an impact on their operations than the US-China trade war and Brexit. Nevertheless, technological innovations, Chinese outbound investment and China’s sheer market potential are keeping firms committed to the China market.

Following the key findings, St. John, joined by Ray Chisnall and Rebecca Soquier (At-large members of British Chamber Shanghai Executive Committee), exchanged views and insights on various key challenges identified in the survey – the continued concern over cybersecurity and the lack of interpretation and enforcement of China’s Cybersecurity Law, the improved confidence on IP with the joint efforts from both the Chinese and British governments to tackle the issue, the potential impacts of the Foreign Investment Law on JVs, the global economic uncertainty and the overall expectation of China’s economy in 2020.