Rising Costs, Protectionism Hit U.S. Companies in China, Says Survey

Wang Yang, China's vice premier, left, and Jacob "Jack" Lew, U.S. treasury secretary, attend a chief executive officer roundtable with U.S. and Chinese business leaders on July 11Photograph by Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg

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By Dexter Roberts

October 10, 2013 at 5:37 PM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

“Tempered optimism”—that’s what U.S. companies are feeling when it comes to China, according to a just-released annual survey. After canvassing member companies, the U.S.-China Business Council in Washington, D.C., found some signs of hope but also plenty of worries. (Among the 110 respondents, more than 60 percent were manufacturers, with around 40 percent in services. The Council has 219 members in total, including Apple, Coca-Cola, Dell, and Caterpillar.)

First for some optimism: 90 percent of companies said their China operations are profitable, the highest number ever to report that, according to the survey released on Oct. 10. And while down from 67 percent last year, more than one-half of companies still plan to increase the resources they put into China.