European business leaders in China have stated that the current zero-Covid policy in place in the country is putting foreign investment at risk, as strict lockdown measures pushed the Chinese services sector to its weakest level of activity in more than two years, reports the Financial Times. Twice as many European businesses are weighing a shift of investment out of China than were doing so at the start of the year, according to a late-April flash survey published on Thursday by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China.
Around 23% of the 372 European companies that responded to the survey said they were considering a move out of China, the highest level in a decade, said the chamber’s president Jörg Wuttke. Around 78% said China was now less attractive for investment because of its Covid-19 policies.
“Zero tolerance doesn’t work because the world has learned to live with Covid and China has to change strategy,” said Wuttke. “We are trying to tell the Chinese government that if you don’t change, we will vote with our feet.”
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