EU firms in China starting to feel less gloomy as Beijing offers stability: report

European companies’ confidence in the Chinese market is showing signs of rebounding for the first time since 2022, as Beijing is increasingly perceived as a “champion” of stability amid rising global volatility, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

After years of spiralling pessimism, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China found that “the intensity of the deterioration in confidence in China’s business environment has eased” among its members over the past year.

In the group’s annual Business Confidence Survey – which polled more than 500 European firms operating in China – less than half of respondents said China’s business environment had become more politicised, down from 52 per cent a year earlier.

While 68 per cent of the companies surveyed said business conditions had become more difficult in China, that represented an improvement from last year, when a record 73 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement.

Meanwhile, firms reported feeling more upbeat about their expectations for growth and profitability in the coming months.

“Some of these gains could be attributed to the fact that, in a year of intense global volatility, China has demonstrated itself to be a relatively stable manufacturing, sourcing and investment destination,” the chamber said in the report.