British companies in China are calling for clarity on recently relaxed coronavirus restrictions to help reverse pessimism among businesses and clear up lingering uncertainties. Changes to virus policy and management protocols have restored much-needed optimism among member companies, the British Chamber of Commerce in China said on Thursday. However, uncertainty and unpredictability remain, both in regards to controls and transparency of the business environment, said Alexandra Hirst, senior policy analyst at the chamber. “Opening up feels like there’s an end in sight, we are seeing a shift in strategy, she said. “But there’s also still concerns in the short term about what this means and how this is going to impact operations [such as] the risk of staff now testing positive, and how implementation will be on a local level. “But the hope is that if certainty and clarity can be given about what it will look like … business operations will eventually be able to resume back to normal.” Last week, Beijing announced a new phase in virus control , easing testing and quarantine requirements and dropping health codes. However, lengthy quarantine for inbound travellers to China remains. Employing foreign staff is the biggest challenge for multinationals given the difficulty in entering China, according to the “British Business in China: Sentiment Survey”, which was released on Thursday. The report surveyed 292 British companies in the Chinese mainland. Only half of the companies reported being able to recruit enough talent this year, while 27 per cent said they were satisfied with foreign staffing. Concerns over quarantine, volatile travel restrictions and the high costs to meet Chinese rules were weighing on business sentiment. China’s capital Beijing unveils 12-point plan to rescue Covid-hit economy Transparency of the business environment was the second biggest concern for British businesses due to a lack of clarity in the enforcement of policies. The report said a record high of 42 per cent of businesses are pessimistic about their prospects for next year, jumping from 9 per cent in the previous survey. “We can see that negative sentiment and lower revenue projections are beginning to feed into decision making and action at least in the short term,” Hirst said. “We need a clear road map, clarity and stability in order for businesses to be able to base decisions on more than sentiment alone and as we shift into this new approach to Covid-19 controls, particularly at least on domestic level at the moment. We hope that we can see some clarity and certainty as these are implemented.” As China moves to live with the virus, businesses do not have to worry about large-scale lockdowns any more, but many are still struggling to navigate what the new policies mean for them and how a surge in infections could affect operations, the chamber said. In addition to the coronavirus, heightened geopolitical tension, especially between China and the United States, is also of concern to British firms, especially when it comes to supply chains. More than a third of British companies feel less welcome in China today compared with a year ago due to increased local protectionism and lack of policy support for foreign firms, the survey shows. China’s position as a priority investment destination is a risk if these issues were not addressed, the chamber said.