The American Chamber of Commerce in People's Republic of China
and AmCham Shanghai released their jointly compiled American
Business in China White Paper 2004 on Thursday. A survey of
238 US companies that is the primary source for the report shows
that American firms overall are even more optimistic about doing
business in China than they were last year.
"For the second year in a row, our research shows that our
members remain bullish on the China market, with twice the number
planning to expand their businesses in China compared to last
year," said AmCham-China Chairman Jim Gradoville at a reception
held to outline key points of the annual report.
He attributed the increasingly upbeat sentiment in large part to
China's fulfillment of its WTO commitments.
Some 61 percent of the AmCham companies surveyed for the report
indicated that China's entry into the WTO has had a positive impact
on their business. AmCham Shanghai Chairman Phil Branham said, "The
Chinese authorities are to be applauded for fulfilling their WTO
commitments."
The companies were particularly impressed with the legislation
the Chinese government has promulgated over the past year. This
includes new regulations in such areas as trading rights,
insurance, auto financing and agriculture.
AmCham believes that the invitation for American companies to
comment on selected draft laws set a good precedent that it hopes
the Chinese government will continue.
Nearly two-thirds of the companies surveyed said that although
the Chinese economy is seen to be growing too fast, they are
confident that the central government will be able to engineer a
soft landing.
However, the report notes two problems of serious concern to
AmCham member businesses: delays in visa approvals for Chinese
business travel to the US and the protection of intellectual
property rights.
The White Paper 2004 takes a strong stand against Washington's
increasingly restrictive visa policies, saying that these "are
costing American companies billions every year in lost
business."
AmCham advises the US government to streamline its application
requirements and increase staff to review business visa
applications.
Gradoville pointed out that excessive security restrictions have
cost US companies business because potential Chinese customers
can't visit their headquarters. He said that these customers take
their money to Europe instead.
AmCham commended the steps outlined recently by Vice Premier Wu
Yi to protect intellectual property rights, but noted that China
still has much important work to do in this area. It describes the
task as an urgent one: more than three-fourths of the US businesses
surveyed claimed that they have been negatively affected by IPR
infringement.
Enforcement and effective deterrents are key to resolving this
problem, according to the White Paper.
(China.org.cn September 17, 2004)