By Professor Andrew Azarov, Business and Economics, International Business academy Consortium (UK)
According to a recent survey by the US-China Business Council (USCBC), American companies’ investment plans in China have plunged to record lows in 2025: only 48% of firms intend to invest in the country, compared with 80% in 2024 (weforum.org). This marks the lowest level since the survey began in 2006 (taipeitimes.com, apnews.com).
Conducted between March and May 2025, the survey of 130 major US firms revealed a sharp decline in optimism. Investment scale is shrinking, and prospects for a recovery in US-China relations remain bleak. Many companies have already shifted into a “risk-mitigation mode” — freezing investments and reassessing strategies (apnews.com).
🌐 Tariff Surge and Political Turbulence
- Tariffs have spiked since April, rising from 25% to 50% in certain categories (ainvest.com, barrons.com, ft.com).
- In USCBC’s survey, tariffs have jumped from 8th to 2nd place among business concerns, second only to overall bilateral tensions. In 2024, tariffs were only ranked eighth (weforum.org).
- Nearly 70% of firms are directly affected by tariffs, while 88% cite the deteriorating relationship as a major challenge (weforum.org).
- Over one-third of companies report sales losses from US tariffs; 27% have been hit by Chinese tariffs — up 21 percentage points year on year (weforum.org).
Although negotiations in Geneva and London brought temporary relief through partial tariff rollbacks, the absence of a long-term settlement leaves businesses facing deep uncertainty (apnews.com, deccanchronicle.com).




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