American businesses in China have expressed the most negative outlook since 1999, according to a recent survey.

Only 41 percent of US firms optimistic about the five-year business outlook in China, according to the American Chamber of Commerce.

The figure has decreased from 47 percent in 2024 and is the lowest since AmCham Shanghai began releasing its annual business report in 1999.
Only 45 percent of respondents indicated that they expect revenue to increase in 2025, which would be a record low if realized.
Just 12 percent ranked China as their headquarters’ leading investment destination, also the lowest recorded in the survey’s history, according to AmCham Shanghai.
Businesses cited US-China tensions and broader geopolitical pressures as the main challenges to operating in China.
Almost half the respondents called for the removal of all US tariffs on Chinese goods and 42 percent supported the abolition of Chinese tariffs on US products, according to AmCham Shanghai.
Despite worsening sentiment, businesses also reported significant improvements over the past year.
More than 70 percent of the respondents reported profitability in 2024, up from the record low of 66 percent in 2023.
Around half the respondents stated that the regulatory environment in China was transparent, a 13-percentage point increase from the previous year.
“Government efforts to enhance the regulatory environment have been noted by members, but these efforts are overshadowed by US-China trade tensions,” said AmCham Shanghai chair Jeffrey Lehman in a statement.
“We encourage both governments to establish a stable and transparent framework that facilitates cross-border trade and investment,” he added.
The most recent assessment of business sentiment comes amid China’s slowing economy, which faces numerous challenges such as the ongoing trade war initiated by former US President Donald Trump, weak consumption, and a prolonged property downturn.
On Wednesday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced that consumer prices fell in August at the fastest rate in six months, indicating weak demand in the world’s second-largest economy.
Carsten Holz, a China economy expert at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, stated that the AmCham survey results reflect the growing decoupling of the US and Chinese economies.
“The results mirror the findings of a May 2025 European Chamber of Commerce in China report, indicating that business optimism among European firms in China has never been as low as it currently is,” Holz said to Al Jazeera.
“These findings align with China’s policy goal of achieving self-sufficiency across all sectors of its economy,” Holz added.