European companies pin high hopes on Chinese market: survey

Over two-thirds of European companies polled are optimistic about their future growth in China and their commitment to the Chinese market remains strong, found a recent survey by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China that was released Tuesday.

A total of 585 member companies took part in the survey, answering questions about their 2020 performance and future outlooks.

In contrary to gloomy expectations in last year's survey due to the COVID-19 epidemic, European companies are much more optimistic this year. "After a rapid recovery from last year's epidemic, China has become a more important source of European economic growth and profit," the survey report stated.

According to the report, only a quarter of respondents reported revenue declines, while 42 percent witnessed growth. Three out of four respondents turned a profit in 2020, the same proportion as the last five years. About 68 percent of respondents are optimistic about future growth in the Chinese market, a whopping increase of 20 percentage points year on year.

Only 9 percent of respondents are considering shifting any current or planned investment out of China, the lowest share on record, the survey noted.

"European companies both contributed to and benefited from China's strong and speedy economic recovery," said Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger, which jointly conducted the survey.

"If given the right opportunities, they are ready to deepen their positions here, and have a wealth of technology and expertise to drive not only growth, but also help with China's decarbonization goals and its industrial upgrade," Depoux added.