The European business community in China listened attentively when the Chinese government announced plans to open its doors in 2018. Although there have been some improvements in the last year, European businesses are facing diverse challenges. The top one remains Chinese economic slowdown, according to the Business Confidence Survey 2019, released by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and Roland Berger.

Around 600 companies from a wide range of industries are represented in the 2019 survey. 29 percent of the respondents can be assigned to the professional services sector, another 36 percent to the industrial goods and services sector. 18 percent operate in the consumer goods and services sector. The remaining 17 percent belong to companies in other branches. In addition to market opening, the European companies focus on topics like regulation, equal treatment and state-owned enterprise (SOE) reform in terms of improvement.

The latest Business Confidence Survey is designed as a snapshot of the successes and challenges faced by European businesses in China. It shows insights into current work settings and their impact on companies. China is and will continue to be an important market. Yet, there is still considerable room for improvement when it comes to building a better business environment.