File photo:Xinhua

 
China has opened a “fast-track" entry system for crucial employees from eight countries, excluding the US, to return to work in China. A recent survey showed global travel disruptions remain the top concern for US companies in China.

The American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham China) on Friday released the results of a May survey of US companies in China, in which it said a total of 90 percent of respondents, up from 77 percent in April, reported that global travel disruptions remain their top concern, saying they have impacted their business operations.

China has opened express travel channels to eight countries: Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Switzerland. The channels are intended to aid these countries return their executives to China amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and do not include the US, a document from China's civil aviation authority showed on Wednesday.

Alan Beebe, president of AmCham China, said on Friday during a press conference that 30 percent to 40 percent of executives of US companies in China stranded in the US are not US passport holders, complicating their return to China.

"Our member companies are sensibly re-evaluating their balance sheets in a quest to be as efficient as possible. However, many key factors lie out of their hands, with thousands of senior executives still stranded outside of China, and we will continue to work closely with the relevant government authorities in a bid to bring them back as soon as possible," said AmCham China Chairman Greg Gilligan on Friday.

As the short and long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are becoming clearer in the business sector, 60 percent of the US companies surveyed said they have cut costs, with 53 percent revising their annual budgets and 47 percent considering adjustments of long-term business strategies and 2020 plans.

The global spread of the coronavirus led 24 percent of the US companies surveyed in May to report an increased need for their Chinese arms to support global operations, up 10 percentage points from April. 

According to the AmCham China report, 59 percent of surveyed US companies in China had resumed normal operations by May, compared to 42 percent in April and 22 percent in March.


Global Times