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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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.