Though China is open for business again, small foreign brands and entrepreneur-led firms are fearful of returning, and for now, many of them are shifting their focus to different markets. As such, inquiries from SMEs wanting to enter China declined by about 18% last year from a year earlier, says the EU SME Centre, while interest from US companies has also dropped, reveals the American Chamber of Commerce in China. The Communist country seems to have lost its allure because of its unpredictable business environment caused by Beijing’s absolutist pandemic policy that had effectively blocked newcomers from entering the market.
