European companies operating in China: From digging in to rethinking their presence

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Hauptverfasser: Garcia Herrero, Alicia, Storella, Theo, Xu, Jianwei
Format: Recurso digital
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Zenodo 2025
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author Garcia Herrero, Alicia
Storella, Theo
Xu, Jianwei
author_facet Garcia Herrero, Alicia
Storella, Theo
Xu, Jianwei
contents <p>We use nearly a decade’s worth of panel data from European Union Chamber of Commerce in China business confidence surveys to analyse the deteriorating outlooks of EU firms in China from 2017 to 2025.<br>All firms in China currently face challenges including slow profit growth and deflation. These circumstances have contributed to a rare drop of foreign direct investment into China over the last two years. However, certain challenges are particularly acute for foreign firms, including those from the EU.<br>According to survey results, business sentiment among EU firms operating in China has never been bleaker. Respondents view their profitability, growth opportunities and competitiveness negatively, while fewer respondents than ever plan to expand their Chinese operations. Moreover, significant shares of respondents report recent increases in political pressure from the Chinese state and media, while nearly a third of respondents say they are siloing their Chinese operations, meaning separating them from other global activities.<br>Disaggregated by size, sector, and years of operation in China, insightful differences emerge between the business strategies of EU firms. We broadly classify these into four categories: doubling-down, hedging, hibernating and ready to exit.<br>EU policymakers should consider how to address the challenges EU firms in China face, such as asset-heavy sectors being ‘stuck’ in China and smaller firms lacking the capacity to operate at a loss in China’s market. The EU might need to facilitate transitions forthese companies, helping them to reduce exposure to China and diversify into other emerging markets.</p>
format Recurso digital
id zenodo_https___doi_org_10_5281_zenodo_17496053
institution Zenodo
language eng
publishDate 2025
publisher Zenodo
record_format zenodo
spellingShingle European companies operating in China: From digging in to rethinking their presence
Garcia Herrero, Alicia
Storella, Theo
Xu, Jianwei
China
European Union
Trade
Business Sentiment
Companies
<p>We use nearly a decade’s worth of panel data from European Union Chamber of Commerce in China business confidence surveys to analyse the deteriorating outlooks of EU firms in China from 2017 to 2025.<br>All firms in China currently face challenges including slow profit growth and deflation. These circumstances have contributed to a rare drop of foreign direct investment into China over the last two years. However, certain challenges are particularly acute for foreign firms, including those from the EU.<br>According to survey results, business sentiment among EU firms operating in China has never been bleaker. Respondents view their profitability, growth opportunities and competitiveness negatively, while fewer respondents than ever plan to expand their Chinese operations. Moreover, significant shares of respondents report recent increases in political pressure from the Chinese state and media, while nearly a third of respondents say they are siloing their Chinese operations, meaning separating them from other global activities.<br>Disaggregated by size, sector, and years of operation in China, insightful differences emerge between the business strategies of EU firms. We broadly classify these into four categories: doubling-down, hedging, hibernating and ready to exit.<br>EU policymakers should consider how to address the challenges EU firms in China face, such as asset-heavy sectors being ‘stuck’ in China and smaller firms lacking the capacity to operate at a loss in China’s market. The EU might need to facilitate transitions forthese companies, helping them to reduce exposure to China and diversify into other emerging markets.</p>
title European companies operating in China: From digging in to rethinking their presence
topic China
European Union
Trade
Business Sentiment
Companies
url https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17496053