Global Courant 2023-05-23 21:01:40
BEIJING –
Foreign companies in China are unsure of what to do after police raids on consulting firms and want “more clarity” about how the recently expanded national security and other rules will be enforced, a foreign business group said on Tuesday.
The British Chamber of Commerce in China said a survey of its members showed they are more optimistic following the lifting of anti-virus controls in December that blocked most travel into and out of China. It said they want to invest but are awaiting steps to restore “confidence and certainty” in China amid tensions with Europe and Washington and official plans to promote economic self-reliance.
“If there is more clarity and certainty, we believe companies will become more committed to China,” Chamber Speaker Julian MacCormac said at a press conference. About 70 percent of companies are “really waiting” to see how conditions develop before taking action.
President Xi Jinping’s government says foreign companies are welcome and is trying to encourage them to invest more. But they are uneasy after the expansion of national security and other rules with little explanation and official plans to create competitors for global suppliers of processor chips and other technology, sometimes using subsidies and market barriers that threaten relations with the European Union, Washington and other countries have strained. trading partners.
On Sunday, the government banned the use of products from the largest US maker of memory chips, Micron Technology Inc., in computers that process sensitive information. It said Micron had unspecified security flaws, but offered no explanation.
Businesses are on high alert after police raid the offices of two consulting firms, Bain & Co. and Capvision, and a due diligence firm, Mintz Group. Authorities have not issued an explanation. They say companies are required to obey the law, but have given no indication of possible violations.
The UK chamber represents some 650 companies, many of them in the financial, advisory and other service industries that may face tighter restrictions on what information can be collected in China and how it can be used and stored.
Tuesday’s report made 171 suggestions for Chinese regulators, including “more clarity” on data restrictions on the auto industry and addressing what it says is unfair treatment of foreign companies in government procurement.
The chamber’s director of government relations, Sally Xu, said member companies responding to a request for questions ahead of a meeting next week with a Commerce Department official all asked about consultants’ investigations.
“Our companies are concerned about this,” Xu said. “They wonder, where is the line between what we can and can’t do?”
An April survey found that 76 percent of companies that responded are more optimistic after the end of anti-virus controls that blocked most travel in and out of China, the chamber said. But the report said the outlook is clouded by an unpredictable business climate, political tensions and “increasing rumors of self-sufficiency”.
“This language around security and self-reliance has to be balanced against the message of ‘welcome to China,’ because I think there’s some nervousness there,” McCormac said. “It raises uncertainty about, what does the future hold for me as a company in China?”
