Business group: Companies in China want ‘clarity’ after security rule changes, raids on consultants

By JOE McDONALD
AP Business Writer

BEIJING (AP) — A business group says foreign companies in China want “greater clarity” about changes in China’s cybersecurity and other rules and how the ruling Communist Party will enforce them after they were rattled by raids on consulting firms. The British Chamber of Commerce in China said companies are optimistic and want to invest but are waiting for steps to “restore the trust and certainty” amid geopolitical tensions and official plans to promote self-reliance. President Xi Jinping’s government says foreign companies are welcome and is trying to encourage them to invest more. But many are uneasy over the expansion of national security and other rules and plans to create competitors to global suppliers of processor chips and other technologies.