Nearly 75 percent of survey respondents said that they expect the ongoing bilateral investment treaty (BIT) negotiations between the US and Chinese governments to be completed by 2018 or sooner, according to the latest American Business in China White Paper.

The white paper, which was released Friday by the American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China), a NGO whose membership comprises more than 3,800 individuals from over 1,000 companies operating across China with the mission to help US companies succeed in China, said that 94 percent of member enterprises said that it is vital for the US and Chinese governments to sign a BIT.

It also said that the member enterprises remain hopeful that a high-standard treaty that includes a narrowly drawn negative list can be negotiated and believe that a high-standard BIT is essential for China's economic future and will be an important tool for improving the regulatory environment and providing a level playing field for investment.

According to the white paper, China remains a top-three investment priority for 60 percent of its member companies and more than 90 percent of respondents believe that innovation in China will be important to their company's future growth in the country.

James Zimmerman, chairman of AmCham China, told the Global Times that the upcoming G20 summit in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang Province is the best time for negotiations to achieve practical progress, but the result ultimately depends on the two governments.

Randal Philips, vice chairman of AmCham China, confirmed with the Global Times on Friday that Facebook and Google, both currently inaccessible in the mainland, are contacting the Chinese government and seeking a chance to reenter the Chinese mainland market.

The businesses expressed their hopes to apply US-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED) commitments to ensure that any future back ICT regulations will be nondiscriminatory, not impose any nationality-based requirements and be developed in a transparent manner.

They also hoped that the commitments could apply to cyber security regulations in the telecom and insurance industries and to any further revisions to the cyber security law.