According to the study, 86 percent of foreign entrepreneurs complained that the restrictions deliver a heavy blow to their business activities in the region, since certain websites and online tools are inaccessible in China. Around 80 percent emphasized that their businesses were seriously affected by the recent tightening of Internet controls, since the beginning of 2015. At the same time, 13 percent of respondents said that they had recently postponed R&D investment operation in China, citing obstacles posed by Beijing's Internet policies.
The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, comprising of about 1,800 member companies, insisted that China's strict Internet policies should be eased in order to bolster the development of the country.
"This is compounded by the fact that these measures are also discouraging much-needed foreign talent from relocating here," he added.
Indeed, with a population over 1.4 billion people and 632 million active Internet users, China is viewed by Western companies as an exceptionally attractive market. However, the "Great Firewall," China's system of online censorship, blocks some of foreign Internet services and media sources, including Google, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram.
