US firms’ confidence in China falls to record low

NEW YORK: American firms’ optimism about China has fallen to a record low, with President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid policy causing more than half of companies to delay or cancel investment, a new survey from an US business group shows.

Pandemic-related shutdowns pose an even bigger headache to US companies in China than worsening relations between Beijing and Washington, according to a survey by the US-China Business Council (USCBC).