AFPAuto factory in the Chinese city of Hefei
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 09:06
Sjoerd den Daas
correspondent China
Sjoerd den Daas
correspondent China
The recurring corona lockdowns may be over, the factory halls open again: business as usual is least of all for foreign companies in China. And this at a time when Beijing looks with suspicion at everything and everyone outside the People’s Republic. “On the one hand, the government says that reform is going to take place and the red carpet is rolled out. On the other hand, everything is about becoming self-sufficient and safety,” says Jens Eskelund.
He is president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce, the club of European companies in China. The 1,700 companies he represents are finding it increasingly difficult to obtain figures and it is increasingly difficult to get the data they have out of the country. “Companies need reliable information. If there is no access to this, it will have an impact on the willingness of foreign companies to invest here.”
Economic figures have never been very transparent in China. “Man-made” and therefore unreliable, as former Prime Minister Li Keqiang himself is said to have once referred to it. But in any case, the figures provided direction for developments in the People’s Republic. Since this summer, Beijing has no longer published figures on youth unemployment, just when it is at a record high Figures on consumer confidence have not been published for some time.
Too sensitive, Beijing believes, at a time when economic figures are increasingly being labeled as state secrets. State media have been instructed not to focus too much on the economic headwinds the country is facing; there is only room for ‘positive’ comments from economists. Something that the lobby club also experiences. “For example, several of our posts on WeChat, in which we share facts, were taken offline,” Eskelund complains.
Collect information yourself
“As a company, you can go out yourself and still collect valuable information,” he says when asked how his members navigate in a country where more and more people have to feel their way around. “But the space for this is shrinking.” Especially when it comes to conducting substantial research; everything can be labeled a state secret. “There are still companies that want to do that work, but specific questions can be very sensitive in specific regions.”
Reuters Jens Eskelund
For example, the combination of forced labor and Xinjiang, the region where Beijing has sent many hundreds of thousands of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities to re-education camps in recent years. In a report, the United Nations slavery rapporteur said there is “reason to conclude” that minorities in the region have also had to perform forced labor, including in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
China strongly denies this. But anyone who tries to independently investigate the claims pays a high price. This spring, for example, a Beijing branch of the American consultancy firm Mintz was raided, reportedly because it was helping other companies map their suppliers in Xinjiang. Five employees were arrested.
This was followed by a raid on the office of the American Bain & Company in Shanghai. Capvision also received a visit. Chinese state media described the raids as an anti-espionage operation in the interests of state security.
Meet European requirements
European companies in the service sector seem to have been spared so far, but there is a good fear. Self-censorship is lurking. “Then they say: we would like to help you, but please know that we would rather not serve you in these areas,” says Eskelund.
Something that Vice President Miguel Montoya of the European Union Chamber of Commerce, himself a partner at one of the major consultancy firms, says he does not immediately see again. “There have not been any major problems yet, but the uncertainty is of course increasing. The quality is not perfect in all cases.”
Foreign companies are thus caught between the demands of the EU, consumers and the reality in China, which is fully committed to national security. Where Brussels asks companies to prove that high standards in the field of human rights and the environment are met, China slams the door.
“If you cannot find anyone who can do the audits for you in China, you cannot comply with European regulations,” Eskelund warns. “That could lead to companies having to pack their bags and leave sensitive regions.”
In the annual position paperthat the European Union Chamber of Commerce today publishedhe makes a thousand recommendations to Beijing.
“There was optimism in 2017 when the president said he was committed to market reforms,” says Eskelund, about President Xi Jinping’s speech that year at the World Economic Forum. Shortly after Trump took office, Xi seemed to present himself as a free trade champion. “Companies want to invest here, but are tired of the promises and want to see action,” says Eskelund.
China is facing a major economic crisis due to low consumer spending and a real estate market crisis:
Chinese economy in dire straits
2023-09-20 07:06:39
#Foreign #companies #dark #Chinas #economic #figures
