E COnOMY
T
he China General Chamber of
Commerce-USA (CGCC), the or-
ganisation representing over 1,500
Chinese enterprises investing and operating
in the US, has released a new business cli-
mate survey of members. The study found
that the complexity of China-US relations
has replaced high labour costs as the top chal-
lenge for Chinese companies in the US at a
time of administration transition.
But Chinese companies surveyed said they
felt the US regulatory and business environ-
ment had become fairer and more transpar-
ent. Most of them have maintained their
market share in the US for the past year, and
plan to increase their investment and hire
more local staff, which showed that Chinese
companies have become more competitive
and confident in the US market.
This year was the fourth time CGCC have
run the survey. The companies surveyed have
invested in a broad range of industries includ-
ing manufacturing, the wholesale trade, real
estate, finance, transportation and energy.Balance Sheet
The US is one of the favourite destinations
for Chinese investors for its high revenue re-
turns, long-term political stability and busi-
ness efficiency. The CGCC survey resultsshowed that Chinese companies in the US
have generally undergone rapid growth over
the past several years.
Half of Chinese companies surveyed wit-
nessed a revenue increase in each of the four
years from 2013 to 2016, and 86 percent be-
lieve their revenue will grow in the upcoming
three to five years. What’s more, 87 percent
of companies surveyed maintained or in-
creased their profit margins in 2016. At least
53 percent of companies maintained their
market share and 61 percent increased their
business activities.
Statistics from China’s Ministry of Com-
merce showed that Chinese investors made
direct investments in 7,961 enterprises in
164 countries and regions around the world
in 2016, with a combined non-financial in-
vestment of over US$170 billion, seeing a
growth of 44.1 percent year on year.
According to a report jointly released by
the National Committee on US-China Rela-
tions and the Rhodium Group in May 2017,
Chinese companies invested a record US$46
billion in the US in 2016 thanks to the grow-
ing number of mega acquisition deals, up
from US$15 billion in 2015. It was a tenfold
increase compared to five years ago, creating
more than 140,000 jobs in the US. By the
end of 2016, all 50 US states and 98 percentof congressional districts hosted Chinese-
owned companies.
In 2015, China Railway Rolling Stock
Corporation (CRRC), one of the world’s
largest suppliers of rail transit equipment,
broke ground to establish an assembly line in
Springfield, Massachusetts. In April, 2017,
33 employees from the Springfield-based rail
car builder of CRRC Massachusetts travelled
to China for three months of technical train-
ing at CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles
Co Ltd in northeastern China’s Jilin Prov-
ince.
Mark Smith, general manager of CRRC
Massachusetts, said after the factory starts
production, it is expected to create ap-
proximately 200 jobs for Americans and if
the business expands, more workers will be
employed. “We all hope the city can be re-
vitalised,” he told ChinaReport. He said in-
vestment from CRRC was a great “new start”
for the old industrial city, once famed for the
Springfield Armory.
In the opinion of Zhang Shuyu, a finance
researcher with the University of Internation-
al Business and Economics, many Chinese
enterprises used to ignore local employees
when they started operations abroad, prefer-
ring to hire Chinese staff before deploying
them overseas, which has become a majorBusiness Climate Survey
new era For investment
Amid the complicated business environment and political uncertainties under the new Us
administration, Chinese companies continue to be optimistic about investing in the Us market
By Du Guodong