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Investment Climate Statement
Last published date:

The U.S. Department of State’s Investment Climate Statements provide information on the business climates of more than 170 economies and are prepared by economic officers stationed in embassies and posts around the world. They analyze a variety of economies that are or could be markets for U.S. businesses.  The Investment Climate Statements are also references for working with partner governments to create enabling business environments that are not only economically sound, but address issues of labor, human rights, responsible business conduct, and steps taken to combat corruption.  The reports cover topics including Openness to Investment, Legal and Regulatory Systems, Protection of Real and Intellectual Property Rights, Financial Sector, State-Owned Enterprises, Responsible Business Conduct, and Corruption.”

Key ICS Themes:

  • China remained one of the world’s most closed major economies, despite rhetorical commitments by the Chinese government to open its economy to foreign investment.
     
  • Foreign investment into China fell 27.1 percent in 2024, the sharpest decline since 2008, continuing a downward trend.
     
  • U.S. and other foreign companies reported increased anxiety about operating in the Chinese economy for a host of reasons, including a sluggish Chinese economy, a restrictive business environment, and the Chinese government’s increasingly aggressive use of legal and regulatory tools to target foreign individuals and companies as diplomatic leverage or for crossing the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) political redlines.
     
  • General Secretary Xi Jinping continued promoting a long-term campaign to remake the country’s financial system under the auspices of “financial development with Chinese characteristics,” including by elevating CCP committees over China’s technocratic regulatory agencies; pushing ostensibly private financial institutions to allocate more credit and capital to strategic industries; imposing regulations to rein in speculative investments; and tightening control over financial sector information and analysis.
     
  • Beijing continued efforts to force foreign technology companies to bring manufacturing, research, and development to China in support of the CCP’s strategic goal to fully indigenize and dominate certain emerging technology sectors.  Relatedly, China remained on the USTR Special 301 Report Priority Watch List in 2025 for serious deficiencies in its intellectual property (IP) regime.
     
  • U.S. and other foreign companies reported ongoing unease as China continued to build out its expansive state control over the collection, storage, processing, and sharing of data, which is of particular concern given China’s already widespread surveillance of people and industry.  

To access the ICS, visit the U.S. Department of State Investment Climate Statements website. 

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Global Business Navigator Chatbot Beta

Welcome to the Global Business Navigator, an artificial intelligence (AI) Chatbot from the International Trade Administration (ITA). This tool, currently in beta version testing, is designed to provide general information on the exporting process and the resources available to assist new and experienced U.S. exporters. The Chatbot, developed using Microsoft’s Azure AI services, is trained on ITA’s export-related content and aims to quickly get users the information they need. The Chatbot is intended to make the benefits of exporting more accessible by understanding non-expert language, idiomatic expressions, and foreign languages.

Limitations

As a beta product, the Chatbot is currently being tested and its responses may occasionally produce inaccurate or incomplete information. The Chatbot is trained to decline out of scope or inappropriate requests. The Chatbot’s knowledge is limited to the public information on the Export Solutions web pages of Trade.gov, which covers a wide range of topics on exporting. While it cannot provide responses specific to a company’s product or a specific foreign market, its reference pages will guide you to other relevant government resources and market research. Always double-check the Chatbot’s responses using the provided references or by visiting the Export Solutions web pages on Trade.gov. Do not use its responses as legal or professional advice. Inaccurate advice from the Chatbot would not be a defense to violating any export rules or regulations.

Privacy

The Chatbot does not collect information about users and does not use the contents of users’ chat history to learn new information. All feedback is anonymous. Please do not enter personally identifiable information (PII), sensitive, or proprietary information into the Chatbot. Your conversations will not be connected to other interactions or accounts with ITA. Conversations with the Chatbot may be reviewed to help ITA improve the tool and address harmful, illegal, or otherwise inappropriate questions.

Translation

The Chatbot supports a wide range of languages. Because the Chatbot is trained in English and responses are translated, you should verify the translation. For example, the Chatbot may have difficulty with acronyms, abbreviations, and nuances in a language other than English.

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