US firms lower China expectations as growth slows

Beijing

US companies, which have led Western investment in China over the last 35 years, are scaling back their expectations and business plans in the face of slowing growth, heightened competition and increased regulatory scrutiny from Beijing.

"Clearly, there's moderating optimism," said John Frisbie, president of the US-China Business Council (USCBC). "There's also a lot of policy uncertainty in the business community."

The USCBC estimates that US business in China is worth about US$350 billion a year, a figure that includes exports, as well as domestic and offshore sales by US affiliates located in China.

That market may be growing at about 10 per cent a year, but with China's top line gross domestic product growth expected to slow to 7.4 per cent this year, the message from executives speaking on the sidelines of an Apec region…