China must reprioritize economic growth and reforms and boost investor confidence by leveling the playing field for all companies in the country, a European business group said Wednesday.
With “business confidence now at an all-time low” over lagging domestic demand and overcapacity in certain industries, the annual European Business in China Position Paper called on China to open its economy and allow a more free market to determine resource allocation. It also recommended introducing policies to boost domestic demand.
Profit margins in China are at or below the global average for two-thirds of the companies surveyed earlier in the year, according to the paper published Wednesday by the European Chamber of Commerce in China.
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Many European businesses are deciding that the returns on investments in the world’s second-largest economy are not worth the risks, due to issues including China’s economic slowdown and a politicized business environment.
“For some European headquarters and shareholders, the risks of investing in China are beginning to outright the returns, a trend that will only intensify if key business concerns are left unaddressed,” Jens Eskelund, president of China’s European Union Chamber of Commerce, said in a message at the beginning of the paper.
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This is them pretending they just now discovered that China didn’t let them in to make profit but to build factories and import manufacturing processes in order for China to speedrun the last century of technological progress. It’s just a ploy for changing the conditions of the deal.
So, start investing in other countries. I’d be in favor of doing it in Africa. Plenty of people and closer to many of the resources. Lift them out of poverty.
While I agree with that in principal, quite a few African countries are rather justifiably wary of us coming in and promising to invest in the place
And rightfully so. It’s not as if these companies play nice.
