The American Chamber of Commerce in People's Republic of China and AmCham Shanghai released their jointly compiled American Business in China White Paper 2004 on Thursday. A survey of 238 US companies that is the primary source for the report shows that American firms overall are even more optimistic about doing business in China than they were last year.

"For the second year in a row, our research shows that our members remain bullish on the China market, with twice the number planning to expand their businesses in China compared to last year," said AmCham-China Chairman Jim Gradoville at a reception held to outline key points of the annual report.

He attributed the increasingly upbeat sentiment in large part to China's fulfillment of its WTO commitments.

Some 61 percent of the AmCham companies surveyed for the report indicated that China's entry into the WTO has had a positive impact on their business. AmCham Shanghai Chairman Phil Branham said, "The Chinese authorities are to be applauded for fulfilling their WTO commitments."

The companies were particularly impressed with the legislation the Chinese government has promulgated over the past year. This includes new regulations in such areas as trading rights, insurance, auto financing and agriculture.

AmCham believes that the invitation for American companies to comment on selected draft laws set a good precedent that it hopes the Chinese government will continue.

Nearly two-thirds of the companies surveyed said that although the Chinese economy is seen to be growing too fast, they are confident that the central government will be able to engineer a soft landing.

However, the report notes two problems of serious concern to AmCham member businesses: delays in visa approvals for Chinese business travel to the US and the protection of intellectual property rights.

The White Paper 2004 takes a strong stand against Washington's increasingly restrictive visa policies, saying that these "are costing American companies billions every year in lost business."

AmCham advises the US government to streamline its application requirements and increase staff to review business visa applications.

Gradoville pointed out that excessive security restrictions have cost US companies business because potential Chinese customers can't visit their headquarters. He said that these customers take their money to Europe instead.

AmCham commended the steps outlined recently by Vice Premier Wu Yi to protect intellectual property rights, but noted that China still has much important work to do in this area. It describes the task as an urgent one: more than three-fourths of the US businesses surveyed claimed that they have been negatively affected by IPR infringement.

Enforcement and effective deterrents are key to resolving this problem, according to the White Paper.

(China.org.cn September 17, 2004)