Global
travel
disruptions are the top concern
for American businesses
in
China, of which many are
cutting compensation and bonuses amid the fallout of the
COVID-19 epidemic, according to a
report from a
business group.
Ninety percent of the 100 or so respondents said they were affected by such
disruptions, up from 77% last month, according to a monthly survey on the impact of
COVID-19 by
the American Chamber of Commerce
in
China, released Friday.
Thousands of senior executives are stranded outside
China, chamber chairman Greg Gilligan said
in a news release.
"We will continue to work closely with the relevant government authorities
in a bid to bring them back as soon as possible," he said.
Sixty percent of companies said they were
cutting costs. About half of respondents said they had or were considering
cutting compensation
for employees, with nearly 30% saying they were cancelling or deferring salary increases this year.
Both
U.
S. and European
business groups are lobbying
China to allow foreign workers back into the country after it shut its borders
in late March to non-Chinese nationals to curb the
coronavirus.
China sees imported cases from abroad as a
key threat to its epidemic control.
It has only relaxed rules to allow some
business
travel from South Korea and Germany. Beijing has also consulted with Japan about easing border controls.
Nearly 60% of surveyed companies said they had resumed normal operations after nationwide lockdowns, although only a quarter of companies working
in the resources or industrial sectors said this was the case. About half of manufacturers said their facilities are operating at normal capacity.