Europe’s leading business lobby in China has called for a unified “one Shanghai” policy, urging authorities to offer citywide economic support, rather than isolating benefits in remote districts, as operational hurdles mount.“We do believe that Shanghai should have a ‘one Shanghai’ policy,” said Carlo Diego D’Andrea, vice-president of the European Chamber of Commerce in China and chairman of its Shanghai board, on Thursday.D’Andrea said incentives should not be concentrated in outlying districts such as Lingang, adding that while some large multinationals had established operations there, relocating to those areas was far more challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises.The appeal comes as European businesses report mounting operational challenges in Shanghai, according to the chamber’s annual Business Confidence Survey. The poll gathered more than 500 responses across China, including over 200 from European companies in the city.Among Shanghai respondents, 68 per cent said the city had become a more difficult place to do business over the past year – the highest share among the chamber’s regional chapters.The European chamber has highlighted persistent hurdles in cross-border capital flows in China. Photo: Getty ImagesMore than half also reported missing opportunities due to market access barriers, while 37 per cent said they did not plan to reinvest profits made in China back into the city.