Beijing — Foreign companies in China are unsure what they are allowed to do following a police crackdown on consulting firms and want “more clarity” on how newly expanded national security and other laws will apply, a foreign trade group reported Tuesday.
The British Chamber of Commerce in China, which banned most inbound and outbound travel to China in December, said it was more optimistic after a survey of its members. He said he wanted to invest but was awaiting steps to “restore credibility and certainty” in China amid tensions between Europe and Washington and official plans to encourage economic self-sufficiency.
“We believe that if there is more transparency and more certainty, companies will be more committed to China,” council chairman Julian McCormack said at a news conference. Some 70% of companies are “really waiting” to see how conditions will develop before taking action.
President Xi Jinping’s government has welcomed foreign companies and is trying to encourage them to invest more, he said. But the expansion of national security and other regulations with little explanation and official plans to create competitors globally in processor chips and other technologies, sometimes using subsidies and market barriers, have strained relations with the European Union, Washington and others. Business partners.
On Sunday, the government banned Micron Technology Inc., America’s largest maker of memory chips, from using them in computers that store sensitive data. Micron said it had unspecified security flaws but did not provide an explanation.
Companies are on edge after police raided the Bain offices of two consultants. & Co. and Capvision, and due diligence firm, Mintz Group. The authorities did not give any explanation. They said that companies have an obligation to comply with the law, but they have not given any indication that they may be breached.
The British Chamber represents around 650 companies, many in the finance, consultancy and other service industries, which could be affected by tighter restrictions in China on what data can be collected and how it can be used and stored.
Tuesday’s report included 171 proposals for Chinese regulators, including “more transparency” about information restrictions on the auto industry and unfair treatment of foreign companies in government procurement.
The Chamber of Commerce’s director of government relations, Sally Shu, said member companies that responded to inquiries before meeting with a Commerce Department official next week have all requested an investigation of the advisers.
“Our company is concerned about this,” Xu said. “Where is the line between what we can do and what we can’t do?” They wonder.
A survey conducted in April found that 76% of responding companies were optimistic that most travel into and out of China would be banned following the end of anti-virus controls. But the report said the outlook was clouded by an unpredictable business environment, political tensions and “increasing concerns about self-sufficiency”.
“This language around security and confidence needs to be balanced with the message of ‘Welcome to China,’ because I think there are some concerns,” McCormack said. “Does it lead to uncertainty about what my future as a company in China looks like?”
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British Chamber of Commerce in China: www.britishchamber.cn