BEIJING (AP) – Nearly half of foreign companies in China feel singled out in a wave of anti-monopoly and other investigations, and a growing number are deciding not to expand their investments, the American Chamber of Commerce in China said Wednesday.
The report adds to complaints Beijing is improperly using regulation to limit foreign access to technology and other promising markets in violation of its free-trade pledges.
Some 57 percent of 477 firms that responded to an annual survey believe “enforcement campaigns target and hinder foreign companies,” the chamber said in a report.
This week, Qualcomm Inc. was fined a record 6 billion yuan ($975 million) by Chinese regulators on charges its licensing practices for mobile phone technology violated the country’s anti-monopoly law. Foreign automakers and dairy suppliers also have been fined under the 2008 law.
Chinese regulators have rejected complaints that foreign companies are treated unfairly.