AmCham in China echoes EU gripes over opaque laws unfairly applied

Foreign companies feel unfairly targeted by China's opaque laws on issues including antitrust enforcement, says a report by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in China. It warns that investment from abroad may continue to shrink as a result.

Beijing has launched a string of antitrust probes into multinational firms from Microsoft to Audi, fuelling concerns of a deteriorating foreign investment climate and increasing protectionism.

There had been "growing perceptions that multinational companies are under selective and subjective enforcement" by Chinese authorities using approaches including anti-monopoly, IT security, food safety and other regulations that lack transparency, said Greg Gilligan, chairman of AmCham China following the issuing of its China Business Climate Survey Report.

"Improvements in these areas are imperative if foreign companies are to continue to invest in China's future," said Gilligan.

In August, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China voiced concern over the antitrust investigations, saying China was using strong-arm tactics and appeared to be unfairly targeting foreign firms.

Qin Gang, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, responded to the chamber's paper by saying he hoped foreign companies would "abide by Chinese law".