Many Chinese companies held back on expanding investments in the US last year amid an increasingly unfavorable business landscape, with no significant rebound expected despite efforts by the world’s two largest economies to ease tensions.
Among Chinese enterprises operating in the US, negative sentiment toward the country’s investment and business environment rose to an all-time high this year, according to an annual survey of member firms by the US-based Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (CGCC), indicating a reversal of growing optimism that had begun in 2023.
The results of the survey were published ahead of an expected meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.
Chinese companies in the US are subject to investment restrictions in critical infrastructure, technologies, and sectors that concern national security. They also face rules limiting ownership of factories and other projects.
Firms have also had to navigate Trump’s whipsawing tariff policies that have increased import costs and disrupted supply chains. But no member companies reported localization of production last year in response to higher duties.
Meanwhile, Beijing continues to restrict capital outflow and tighten control over Chinese companies listing overseas. It has also implemented export controls on supplies and critical technology, tightening scrutiny of outbound investments to ensure companies don’t undermine national security.
“Against the backdrop of intensifying US-China economic tensions, confidence among Chinese enterprises in the US is under notable pressure, and overall expectations have become more conservative,” the report wrote.
Nearly three-quarters of companies surveyed reported no change in new investments in 2025, the highest level since the survey began in 2014. Some 15% of surveyed firms decreased investment last year while 6% said they are now considering exiting the US market entirely, up from none the year before.
The annual survey was conducted in March, shortly after Israel and the US attacked Iran and news emerged that Trump and Xi would delay a planned meeting in Beijing. CGCC did not share how many firms were surveyed.
CGCC’s members include both state-owned enterprises, such as Bank of China and Sinopec, and private sector companies like electric vehicle giant BYD and Tencent Cloud.
Chinese firms said the top three challenges looking ahead to 2027 were US macroeconomic instability, bilateral political tensions, and trade frictions. Geopolitic uncertainty remains the biggest barrier for companies looking to build out their brand as distrust of Chinese capital remains.
Despite headwinds, a third of companies said revenue grew last year, while 81% remained profitable or broke even.
And even as firms were reluctant to expand their investments in the US, willingness to reinvest profits reached a record high of 79%, underscoring Chinese companies’ commitment to the US, according to the chamber.
“Companies are reinforcing their US presence while preparing for continued uncertainty, yet many still recognize the long-term value of deeper engagement,” said the report.
The anticipated meeting, also the first time a US president has visited Beijing since Trump did in 2017, will include discussions of an agreement that would ease bilateral tensions and could revive Chinese investments.
Qiu Wenxing, minister and deputy chief of mission at China’s US embassy, told Chinese companies at an event hosted by the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce to be patient as the two governments are working together to stabilize the relationship.
“There are many difficulties, but there is a great potential to be unleashed in the field of investment and trade,” he said.
But analysts think it is unlikely to create a new boom of investments in the US. Research organization Rhodium Group said it was unlikely Chinese investment will return to levels close to the peak of nearly USD 60 billion in 2016 after the Chinese government loosened its capital controls in 2014.
Among developed economies, the US saw the largest drop in value of completed Chinese investment transactions made over a three-year period in 2022 compared with 2014.
As of the first quarter in 2026, more than half of Chinese clean tech investment in the US announced in 2022 has been delayed, paused or outright cancelled.
“Chinese companies are caught between a rock and a hard place, and would need meaningful policy certainty on both sides before committing to increased investment,” said Armand Meyer, senior researcher analyst at Rhodium Group. “Given these constraints, we should also expect a significant gap between announced investments and actual realization.”
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.