Economic Observer Online
Sept 19, 2012
Translated by Zhu Na
Original article: [Chinese]

The China General Chamber of Commerce yesterday came out to refute recent reports that claimed international supermarket chains such as Carrefour and Tesco were considering exiting the China market, according to a report in today's Beijing News.

The China General Chamber of Commerce, a non-governmental commercial organization, claimed that some foreign media outlets had spread the rumor in an attempt to portray a deterioration in China's investment environment.

Yesterday, an official from China General Chamber of Commerce said Dai Wei (戴玮), the vice president of Carrefour China and the company's corporate affairs director, had recently paid a visit to the chamber and told them that "Carrefour is firmly committed to long-term development in the Chinese market."

The Chamber of Commerce also said that although Dai Wei's words were a clear response to the recent rumors, the business and investment development of companies had still been affected.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, in the first seven months of the year, the number of new foreign companies being set-up in China dropped 12.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Aside from 2009, this is the first time in 5 years that the indicator has declined.

Due to increases in labor costs, some foreign enterprise have shifted to regions with cheaper labour.

In July, Adidas decided to close its only affiliated factory in mainland China. Nike also closed its only footwear production factory in China.

However, Unilever recently announced that it will build a global production base in China. Unilever CEO Paul Polman was quoted as saying that "this is a battlefield that no consumer goods company is willing to give up on."