BEIJING, March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- US member companies areperforming well in China and most plan to EXpand operations thIS year, but manyare concerned about regulatory practices that favor domestic companies,according to the 13th annual Business Climate Survey conducted by the AmericanChamber of Commerce in the People's Republic of Commerce (AmCham-China).

The 2011 Business Climate Survey found AmCham-China member companies arehighly committed to the China market, with 83 percent of survey respondentsplanning to increase investment in China operations this year. Macroeconomicworries dating from the financial crisis have receded, and the vast majority ofrespondents – 85 percent – reported revenue growth in China last year.

But survey respondents in China indicate that bureaucracy and unclear lawsand regulations are impeding their investment and hiring plans. Of particularconcern are burdensome licensing procedures and indigenous innovation policiesthat favor domestic companies at the expense of their foreign counterparts.

"Our members are committed to investing in China and growing with China, butas China enters its 10th year in the WTO, the goal of a fair and transparentregulatory environment has not yet been achieved," observed AmCham-ChinaChairman Ted Dean. "We believe greater market access, increased transparency,improved IPR protection, and a fairer playing field with national treatment willopen new opportunities for our members and move China closer to its own goaLS ofa more innovative economy and more balanced economic growth."

Highlights of the survey include the following:Sixty-one percent of all respondents to the Business Climate Survey are inChina primarily to produce goods or services for the China market.In China, companies must obtain licenses to operate. Of the Business ClimateSurvey respondents who said obtaining a license is important for their businessoperations, 71 percent believe the licensing process effectively diSCriminatesagainst foreign companies. These respondents indicated concerns with thetransparency of the process, the lenGTh of time needed to secure a license, theavailability of licenses, and the equal enforcement of rules pertaining tolicensing.Of respondents who said securing a license is important for their business,35 percent say licensing procedures have actually become more difficult than inthe past. Nearly two thirds – 62 percent – of respondents who need a license fortheir business say onerous licensing requirements have the effect of SLowingtheir expansion and investment. Another 22 percent of those who require licensessay the arduous licensing process forces delays in hiring.Forty percent of those surveyed believe China's indigenous innovationpolicies will hurt their business. And twenty-six percent of companies say theyhave already lost business because of indigenous innovation policies.Respondents who said they anticipated losing business because of indigenousinnovation policies were most concerned about losing out on sales to state-ownedenterprises (SOEs). Sixty-two percent of respondents cited SOEs as a marketwhere they are likely to lose business as a result of indigenous innovationpolicies – a rise of 10 percentage points from the number of members who singledout SOEs as a concern last year.Two thirds of respondents said intellectual property rights (IPR) protectionis very or critically important to their business. However, 70 percent ratedChina's enforcement of intellectual property rights as either ineffective ortotally ineffective. The current IPR enforcement campaign is a constructive stepin this direction.

The 2011 AmCham-China Business Climate Survey was conducted amongAmCham-China members in late 2010. There were 434 company respondents to thesurvey.