SHANGHAI, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- The 2026 China Business Report, released on Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai), revealed a significant rebound in business confidence among its surveyed member companies operating in China.
Business confidence bounced back markedly, as 58 percent of respondents expressed optimism about China's five-year business outlook, up 17 percentage points year on year, the report said.
Profitability rebounded to its highest level since 2019, with 78 percent of respondents profitable in 2025, an increase of 7 percentage points from the 2024 level, according to the report.
As business confidence rebounded and more companies reported profits, investment confidence in China also strengthened, resulting in 28 percent of respondents increasing investment in China last year, the highest level in four years.
Improved market sentiment is also reflected in a positive assessment of China's business environment. Fifty-five percent of surveyed companies said the business environment in China is transparent, up 7 percentage points year on year.
"Members have clearly noticed government efforts to improve the regulatory environment, and this year those gains are reinforced by steadier U.S.-China relations," said Jeffrey Lehman, chair of AmCham Shanghai. "We urge both countries to build on the momentum of recent engagement and lock in a stable, transparent framework that is conducive to cross-border trade and investment."
Eric Zheng, president of AmCham Shanghai, emphasized the great importance of the Chinese market, mainly from two dimensions.
China remains one of the most efficient manufacturing bases in the world and continues to be a highly strategic market for members' products and services, Zheng said. "That underpins the positive sentiment," he added.
Chinese operations also contributed to the global and domestic business performance of U.S. companies, the survey showed.
Among members with U.S. operations, three-quarters confirmed that their China presence benefits their U.S. operations in some way, with one-third emphasizing that their China presence enhances the global competitiveness of their U.S. operations.
A notable strategic shift is also emerging, with more surveyed companies adopting a global-oriented strategy. The "in China for the world" strategy has become the top business priority for 29 percent of surveyed companies in 2026, surpassing the "in China for China" model chosen by 24 percent.
More respondents are also betting on China-based innovation, the report said. Half of surveyed members with China-based research and development (R&D) facilities plan to increase R&D spending this year, up sharply from one-third in 2025.
The report is based on AmCham Shanghai's 2026 China Business Survey of 262 member companies.
In a vote of confidence in the Chinese market, General Motors (GM) in August announced a 20-year extension of its joint venture partnership with Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, with it now running to 2047.
"We will continue to strengthen our performance here in China by developing products and technologies in China, for China, and bringing them to market faster," said John Roth, GM senior vice president & president of GM China. The joint venture plans to launch at least 30 new energy vehicle models by 2030.
"We see meaningful opportunities to grow beyond China. SAIC-GM has strong local capabilities across engineering, manufacturing and quality, and we can apply those strengths in select international markets, including the Middle East, Africa, South America, Mexico and Asia-Pacific," Roth said.
"Foreign companies continue to value the Chinese market for its scale and dynamism and, increasingly, as a base for serving the world," noted Jeff Yuan, head of tax at PwC China, adding that China remains a critical part of their global strategy for innovation, production and sourcing. Enditem
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