American CEOs used to swoon over China. Its vast pool of consumers has been a magnetic draw for decades. But doing business there has become so fraught and risky โ with intellectual property theft and an expanded espionage law used to intimidate the business community โ that U.S. companies have pressed the pause button.
On top of that, the U.S.-China relationship has become contentious due partly to Beijing's belligerent activity toward Taiwan and in the South China Sea, the balloon spy incident of last year, and the list goes on.
Making matters worse, the Chinese economy has hit a wall: export growth is slowing, the country's drowning in debt, and youth unemployment has soared.