British Business in China: Position Paper 2024

在华英国企业建议书 2024年

The British Chamber of Commerce in China has released its British Business in China: Position Paper 2024 by 22nd May. In its sixth edition, the report finds that businesses are yet to see government plans for improving international investment into China translated into meaningful market reforms. 

Though the identification of market challenges in last year’s 24 Point Guidelines and 24 Point Action Plan has been broadly welcomed by the British business community, they believe that continued action on longstanding market access issues is still required. A complex geopolitical environment also continues to put off businesses from making new investments in key areas.

中国英国商会在5月22日发布《2024 在华英国企业建议书》。第六版报告发现，企业尚未看到中国政府将改善国际投资环境的政策方案转化为切实的市场改革措施。

尽管去年发布的 “24 条政策措施” 和 “24 条行动方案”指出了市场的挑战，受到英国商界的普遍欢迎，但企业认为，中国政府仍需要继续采取切实的措施来解决企业⻓期存在的市场准入问题。复杂的地缘政治环境也继续阻碍企业在关键领域增加投资。

We’re calling for:

• A transparent and predictable regulatory environment to improve business confidence.

Investment into the Chinese market has been stymied by repeated incidents of policies brought in without warning, challenging the perception of China as a predictable market for businesses.

• Improved consultation with business for better policy solutions.

Chinese government engagement with British businesses has reached unprecedented levels in the past year; it is essential that this continues in the future, particularly in the “new quality productive forces” which will drive China’s future growth.

• Proactive engagement around overcapacity

Concerns around profit margins and the potential for increased trade barriers have stopped British businesses reaching their full potential in supporting China’s green growth; more dialogue is needed at both the governmental and business level to foster confidence.

2024-2025年度的关键建议：

• 营造透明且可预期的监管环境以提升企业的信心

多次毫无预兆发布新政策的做法，阻碍了外企对中国市场的投资，使企业对中国市场的可预期性产生质疑。

• 改善对企业的意⻅征集方式，以制定更好的政策解决方案

在过去的一年中，中国政府与英国企业的互动达到了前所未有的水平;未来，特别是在推动中国进一步增⻓的“新质生产力”方面，继续进行这种积极互动将是至关重要的。

• 积极应对产能过剩问题

对利润率下降和贸易壁垒增加的担忧，使英国企业无法充分发挥潜力以支持中国的绿色增⻓;政府和企业层面需要进行更多对话，以增强企业的信心。

In 2023 the British Chamber asked the Chinese government to take concrete steps to open up, with a particular focus on addressing key regulatory issues such as those relating to data, whilst improving communication and transparency. The government deserves credit for many of the steps it has taken to tackle these issues in the past year, but these have yet to lead to a clear return of confidence among British businesses.

A number of previous documents published by the Chinese government reference many of the key challenges facing British businesses in the country at a macro level and have already seen some measures introduced to address them. This comes as the Chinese government shifts its growth plans to centre on new quality productive forces, an initiative that also presents multiple opportunities for British companies to bring their expertise to the China market.

2023年，英国商会呼吁中国政府落实扩大开放的具体措施，特别是解决与数据等方面相关的关键监管问题，同时加强沟通和提高透明度。值得肯定的是，在过去一年中，中国政府确实采取了许多措施来解决这些问题。然而就结果来看，这些措施未能明显提升英国企业的信心。

在过去十个月里，中国颁布了《关于进一步优化外商投资环境加大吸引外商投资力度的意见》（24条政策措施）和《扎实推进高水平对外开放更大力度吸引和利用外资行动方案》（24条行动方案），努力吸引外资。这些文件同样提到了在华英国企业在宏观层面面临的许多关键挑战，并针对这些挑战提出了一些解决措施。与此同时，中国政府正在转向以新质生产力为核心的增长规划，这也为英国企业创造了诸多机遇，可将其专业知识引入中国市场。

Despite this, the findings of the British Business in China: Sentiment Survey 2023-2024 indicate that British companies are yet to see government measures translate into “meaningful opening-up”, with an anticipation that regulatory obstacles will increase rather than decrease in the next five years. British business confidence is further constrained by the growing risk of increased trade tensions due to a complex geopolitical environment, which further discourages companies from making new investments in key areas.

There are signs that China is taking tangible steps to implement some of the changes outlined in their guidelines, including recent progress over the facilitation of cross-border data flows. British companies anticipate more opportunities in the market if the implementation of these measures fosters a clear, transparent and predictable business environment.

尽管如此，《在华英国企业：2023-2024年度商业信心调查报告》显示，英国企业尚未看到政府措施带来“实质性开放”，并预期未来五年内监管障碍将会增加而非减少。1复杂的地缘政治环境导致贸易紧张局势升级的风险增加，这进一步削弱了英国企业的信心，影响了他们在关键领域增加投资的意愿。

以促进跨境数据流动为例，中国正在采取具体措施以落实指导文件中的一些改革措施，并取得了相应的进展。英国企业预计，如果这些措施的落实，最终能够营造一个清晰、透明、可预期的营商环境，那么外国企业界人士将会看到更多的机遇。

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Find Out More

Click Here To Read The Full Report

For hard copies or more details about the survey and our advocacy work, please contact: advocacy@britishchamber.cn

点击此处阅读完整报告

若需要纸质报告或了解与我们的调查结果和倡议工作相关的更多信息，请联系：

advocacy@britishchamber.cn

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Making your voice heard 为企业发声

Briefing with the Department for Business and Trade 向英国商业与贸易部（DBT）递送报告

This Friday, the report was presented to the Department for Business and Trade in a special pre-briefing. After receiving support from our members in dozens of roundtables, interviews, and research events, the Chamber’s team provided sector specific insights on the key concerns, market access barriers, and areas for collaboration that British businesses report exist for their operations in China. Thank you to DBT and the British Embassy Beijing team for the warm welcome!

这个周五，经过与数十家会员企业的圆桌会议、访谈和调研后，中国英国商会在商务部贸易投资促进司的一次特别预备报告会上，提供了有关英国在华企业面临的关键问题、市场准入障碍以及合作领域的行业具体见解。在此，我们感谢商务部贸易投资促进司和英国驻华大使馆团队的热情接待！