US firms urge easier process for investment

The United States business community in China is calling for a streamlined investment approval process, the opening of more sectors to foreign participation and prioritization of the US-China Bilateral Investment Treaty.

In the latest issue of its Policy Spotlight Series, the American Chamber of Commerce in China identified common investment hurdles facing its members, and it made recommendations across 12 sectors to address such issues.

"Although foreign companies remain eager to invest in the Chinese market, challenges such as discriminatory industrial policies, opaque investment approval procedures and a lack of effective administrative and legal recourse when investments are denied pose huge barriers to potential benefactors of the Chinese economy," said Greg Gilligan, chairman of AmCham China.