The Swiss Center of Shanghai and China Integrated are pleased to present the 2016 China Business Survey, conducted in partnership with CEIBS business school. The 2016 survey offers unique comparisons between foreign-invested and Chinese enterprises operating in China; this year’s survey also features a new analysis of Swiss and Chinese companies’ respective performances. For the third year in a row, the China Business Survey also includes a section dedicated to analyzing the business challenges and opportunities for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in China.

The 2016 China Business Survey offers an important perspective on the experiences of managers working within a slow growth period. As the survey results indicate, the slowing growth of the Chinese economy has not hindered the ambitions of businesses, over 50% of all companies surveyed stated an intention to increase investments in China in 2016. Furthermore, sales and profit expectations remain stable across the board despite China’s slowing economic growth.

In a continuing trend, Chinese private enterprises are seen as the greatest source of competition. However, foreign, and especially Swiss, companies succeed in this competitive market by differentiating through quality and maintaining positive brand images. Additionally, Chinese enterprises report much more of a challenge posed by innovation than foreign companies do. Oft-cited challenges related to human resources issues in China remain consistent with the exception that companies surveyed appear to be struggling less with retaining employees than in previous years. Overall, managers in China continue to find success and most intend on expansion in the coming year.

We hope that readers will find this survey insightful and useful for business. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions about the topics covered.

For more details, please download here.