The 2019 Australia-China Business Sentiment Survey demonstrates that Australian businesses remain optimistic about staying invested in China despite internal and external challenges. China Briefing breaks down the survey’s key findings.
Last week, the Australia Chamber of Commerce in China (Austcham Shanghai), in partnership with Westpac and China Skinny, published the 2019 Australia-China Business Sentiment Survey. The 2019 Survey captures the sentiments of 211 Australian organizations with operations, connections, or trade ties in China.
The results show that 71.6 percent of Australian businesses remain optimistic about their future prospects in China – a 6.7 percentage points reduction from the same survey’s findings last year.
Yet, taken in the context of China’s slowing economy and bilateral tensions between Australia and China, many observers view this number in a positive light and as a sign of resilience.
In addition, the survey indicates that Australian investors are taking an increasingly mature approach towards the Chinese market – with more companies engaging in pre-market entry research and tailoring their business strategies to adjust to local technology and innovation trends.
As Australia celebrates 46 years of its formal diplomatic ties with China – this survey report comes as a timely reminder of the economic and strategic importance of their bilateral relationship. Here we highlight key takeaways from the report’s findings.
Business sentiment tied to future growth prospects
71.6 percent of Australian businesses surveyed in the 2019 report are optimistic about their short-term future in China (12-month outlook). A further 81.5 percent of the respondents are optimistic about their mid-to-long term future in China (five-year outlook).
Putting this into context, when compared to last year, the sentiment analysis shows a small dip in the positive outlook towards China – businesses are 6.7 percentage points less positive in their outlook in 2019 and 10.3 percent more pessimistic than last year.
