Foreign investment in China remains vibrant

China remains attractive for foreign investors, with more than 90 percent of the companies in a recent survey selecting it as one of their most important destinations.

Harley Seyedin, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in South China, said that more than half the participating companies gained over 30 percent of their revenues from China, an increase of 4 percent year-on-year.

"Forty-five percent of the participating companies registered a significant or slight increase in their revenue from China, including 43 percent of American companies and 49 percent of manufacturing companies," Seyedin said on Monday at a news conference at which AmCham South China released its 2023 White Paper on the Business Environment in China and the 2023 Special Report on the State of Business in South China in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

"This year, 210 companies from around the world were studied and surveyed by AmCham South China," Seyedin said.

Albeit a moderate decrease in the proportion of companies reporting an increased head count in 2022, most companies were upbeat about their employment expansion plans, with 44 percent of them planning to augment hiring significantly or slightly in 2023, he said.

Companies' profitability showed signs of improvement last year, with 88 percent of those surveyed reporting higher profits in China, an increase of 6 percent. Up to 90 percent of the U.S. companies achieved profitability in China, and 54 percent of those were reported to have met their budget expectation.

"The investment enthusiasm of companies is on an upward trajectory, with four-fifths of companies reinvesting in China in 2022," Seyedin said.

Last year, 74 percent of participating companies chose not to shift their investments out of China, and no companies expressed an intent to leave China entirely.

Guangzhou has been recognized for six years running as the top preferred investment destination in China, followed by Shenzhen, Shanghai, and Beijing, he said.

Seyedin said that while COVID-19 had a serious impact on China's economy, the setback was temporary.

"With the optimization of its COVID-19 policies and measures and further opening-up, China is now headed toward recovery and will unleash substantial economic vitality both greater and sooner than expected. The survey and study results released today show that China's economy will be a crucial locomotive in promoting global economic growth in 2023," he said.