Global Times

William Zarit, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), told the Global Times on Friday that the meeting “will be an excellent opportunity for the two leaders to get to know each other and discuss, in a relaxed atmosphere, some of the major issues facing the bilateral relationship and the world.”

According to a report published by AmCham China in mid-March, out of 462 companies interviewed, 58 percent said that their business performance improved in 2016 compared with the previous year, up from 55 percent in 2015, while 16 percent said their business deteriorated, compared with 23 percent in the previous year.

Only 5 percent of them forecast that their business will have negative growth in China this year, it said.

But challenges also remain. According to the AmCham China report, US companies still face a number of difficulties in doing business in China, including unclear laws, rising labor costs and protectionism.

AmCham China chairman Zarit noted that when [AmCham China] met with senior Trump administration officials in February, it was clear that they were very familiar with the issues faced by US companies in China, “perhaps more so than previous administrations.”