‘Huge uncertainty’ for EU firms over China’s coronavirus curbs

‘Huge uncertainty’ for EU firms over China’s coronavirus curbs

BEIJING: Many European firms are rethinking their investments in China because of its strict COVID controls, a top business group said Monday, warning that disruptions had pummeled operations. While the rest of the world has steadily removed coronavirus curbs, China has remained committed to its zero-COVID strategy, using lockdowns and mass testing to stamp out all infections.

But this strategy has hammered businesses and snarled supply chains – 60 percent of respondents in a survey of European businesses said it has become harder to do business in China, in large part due to COVID controls. “We hope that China is really waking up,” Bettina Schoen-Behanzin, vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, told AFP.

“(We hope) that they find a way to get out of this zero-tolerance COVID strategy because it causes huge uncertainty and this is for sure not good for investment.” The chamber conducted the survey on over 600 member firms in February and March just as strict lockdowns were imposed in several areas to control China’s worst COVID outbreak in two years – from business hub Shanghai to the northern breadbasket province of Jilin. The body also did a follow-up in April to assess the