President of European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EUCCC), Joerg Wuttke said that the new line up of the Chinese leadership after the 20th party congress will have to give clear signal to the world that China is committed to economic reforms and opening up. In an exclusive interview with Prasar Bharati Special Correspondent in Beijing, Joerg Wuttke said this will be important to restore the eroding confidence of foreign companies in China as an investment destination.<br />''<br />''Just ahead of the 20th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party to being on 16th October, the European Chamber released its annual position paper on China last week and said that China's move away from the rest of the world due to the restrictions imposed under its COVID-19 policy indicates that, at the moment, 'ideology is trumping the economy' in China. It said that rational decision making in Chinese government has been challenged by ideology as Covid related disruptions and geopolitical tensions this year have rapidly eroded the county's standing as investment destination.<br />''<br />''He said that this change in the Chinese decision-making process began last year with the crackdown on private businesses which wiped out a trillion US Dollars in equity values adding that the 20th Party congress of Chinese Communist party will give us a signal if China will further continue in the direction of opening up and economic reforms.<br />''<br />''The Chamber urged that China should make more pragmatic efforts to rebuild investor confidence and continue its reform and opening up. Joerg Wuttke said that companies are actively looking for diversification of their businesses to other countries including India. Since January 2022, no new European companies have come to China.<br />''<br />''He said, to the surprise of many, European companies are under-invested in China. European Union is holding back because of all the problems face in investing in China.<br />''<br />''He said that a big majority of Europeans now look at China very critically and it has impacted the political decision making among EU member countries. He said, China is far more dependent on Europe than Europe is in China adding that 2.2% of China's GDP and 14 million jobs in China are dependent on European markets.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">He said that due to current geo-political scenario, business has lesser say in decision making in regard to China due to the reputational challenges and the frustration businesses are getting in China which is not happening.</span><br />