The headquarters of HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank stand in the central business district at dusk, in Hong Kong, China, on Mar 15, 2024. BEIJING: British companies operating in China feel that doing business in the world's second-largest economy has become harder over the past year due to sluggish economic conditions and they expect that situation to remain in 2025, a survey found.
"British businesses continue to face significant headwinds, from China's economic slowdown to regulatory hurdles," the chamber said."Revenue expectations are down, and businesses' optimism for 2025 is low despite the announcement of stimulus measures." China's economy has struggled to mount a durable recovery following the abandonment of Beijing's strict COVID-19 curbs in late 2022, leading analysts to warn that a period of stagnation could be on the cards, as seen in Japan in the 1990s.The UK and China's bilateral engagement has picked up in recent months.