Anti-graft campaign freeing up money for growth

The champagne has stopped flowing in Beijing, and Joerg Wuttke couldn't be happier about it.

President Xi Jinping's crackdown on everything from gift giving to excessive wining and dining is leveling the business playing field, said Beijing-based Wuttke, president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China. Even as antitrust probes zero in on foreign companies from Microsoft to Qualcomm, the government's anti-corruption campaign is making one aspect of business easier in the world's second-biggest economy.

"It takes the stress away," said Wuttke, head of a chamber whose members include Airbus and BMW. "You're not afraid that somebody gets an order because he found a better champagne or something like that. It's not Singapore yet, but it's a very positive development."