"We are never ever getting back together"

Hi, welcome to China Uncensored, I'm your host Chris Chappell.

Ah China, the world's growth engine.

At least according to top Chinese officials.

When western companies first went to China it was like...

"Does this guy know how to throw a party or what?"

But now...

"This Party's over."

Because a lot of US companies are planning to leave China,

or have left already.

That's according to the 2016 business climate survey by the American Chamber of Commerce

in China.

"Our survey reflects that one in four companies are moving operations."

Wow. One in four.

They surveyed 500 members that make up a representative chunk of US companies operating in China.

The survey also found that, increasingly,

businesses are flatlining, in yellow, or losing money, in red.

77% said they feel "less welcome" in China than before.

Nearly 80% say they've been negatively affected by China's Internet censorship.

And perhaps one of the worst hit has been the musical instrument insurance company,

Fallin' Gong.

Now for years, China's economy has experienced a meteoric rise.

"...the meteoric rise, the rapid growth of China."

Which is weird,

because I'm pretty sure meteors don't rise.

But anyway, now the...rising meteor

is falling back down.

"China's economy is slowing.

This is a known fact."

Many experts think China's GDP growth data is inflated

even entirely man-made.

Oh, wait, sorry, it's not experts saying that

it's China's own Premier, Li Keqiang.

More than half of American companies surveyed said they're struggling with labor costs.

There are other problems, too.

The biggest challenge companies say they face is "inconsistent regulatory interpretation

and unclear laws."

Which I assume was a multiple-choice answer.

There are some other fun reasons to leave, too.

52% of survey respondents say the risk of getting intellectual property stolen

is greater in China compared to other places they do business.

And 52% also say they've had trouble recruiting senior executives

to work in China because of air quality issues.

So in summary, American companies are struggling with paying people,

dealing with a legal system that has more holes than Swiss cheese,

getting their stuff stolen,

and also they can't breathe.

So for the one in four companies that have left or plan to leave China,

where are they headed?

What's that, Shelley?

Not back to America??

Mostly, to other countries in Asia, like Vietnam, Thailand, and India

--you know, so they can...

continue to exploit the low wages of developing nations for their own profit.

So there are lots of reasons, apparently

--even according to the bullish American Chamber of Commerce--

not to do business in China.

And yet still, over half of the businesses still consider China to be one of the top

three investment destinations.

They'll just do it with more "calculation and caution."

Right. I think it's best put like this:

"Fool me once, shame on you.

Fool, can't get fooled again."

What do you think about US companies leaving China,

and their reasons for doing so?

Leave your comments below and subscribe for more episodes of China Uncensored.

Once again I'm Chris Chappell, see you next time.