China's move away from the rest of the world – embodied by the restrictions imposed under its COVID-19 policy – indicates that, at the moment, ideology is trumping the economy. If China persists with this approach, the business environment will continue to become more challenging," it said.
The COVID restrictions have had a crippling effect on the attraction and retention of foreign and Chinese talent. The travel, visa and permit restrictions have caused an exodus of EU nationals, as well as those from Japan, South Korea and the U.S.
In the first eight months of this year, EU exports to China declined by more than eight per cent from a year earlier. China's exports to Europe rose almost 19 per cent in the same period.