Confidence among European businesses operating in China is showing "signs of an uptick", according to a report released on Wednesday by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and consultancy firm Roland Berger.
China remains "the heavyweight champion of efficient and cost-effective supply chains", with 75 percent of respondents saying their China-based production is more efficient than operations elsewhere, according to the European Business in China Business Confidence Survey 2026.
The report noted that China has a dynamic research and development ecosystem and is highly competitive, with 48 percent of respondents saying Chinese firms in their industry are now more innovative than their European counterparts, compared with just 24 percent who favor European firms.
Around 60 percent of respondents said their industry offers a fair competitive environment, up 4 percentage points from the previous year.
The proportion of companies reporting optimism over their profit outlook for the next two years rose to 17 percent, a 5-percentage-point increase from the historic low recorded in the 2025 survey. At the same time, the share of firms with pessimistic outlooks fell by 13 percentage points.
