As foreign businesses operating in China conclude their damage assessment of the annus horribilis that was 2022 and reset expectations following the sudden scrapping of “zero Covid,” the mood is shifting toward cautious optimism.
There is widespread relief at the prospect of a more predictable operating environment and the resumption of connectivity with the rest of the world. Recovering the more robust levels of confidence common among foreign investors pre-2019 will now need to be the goal if China seeks to capitalize on its reopening, stabilize and grow levels of inbound investment, and return to the “new normal” of annual GDP expansion of 5% or above.
