Photo: A screenshot of Tim Cook's Sina Weibo on March 24, 2023.

US companies are becoming more optimistic about the Chinese market and more upbeat about the country's economic recovery, according to a report sent by American Chamber of Commerce in China (AmCham China) to the Global Times on Wednesday. 

The optimism came after a series of visits to China by US corporate executives in recent weeks, in a signal of rising confidence in China's growth potential. The executives vowed long-term investment and said they're eyeing more opportunities in this market.

The latest survey is a follow-up assessment to its 2023 China Business Climate Survey Report (2023 BCS), which showed American companies' most recent views on China's business outlook.

According to the report, 59 percent of the member companies had a positive view about China's economic recovery, a rise of 22 percentage points from March. 

The survey found that 59 percent of the members are upbeat about China's market growth, up from 42 percent. The share of those who were optimistic about the potential for profitability rose slightly, up 4 percentage points to reach 37 percent.

The results are in line with US companies' increasing interest in China, as a number of US corporate executives including Starbucks' Howard Schultz, Intel's Patrick Gelsinger and Apple's Tim Cook visited China in recent weeks, as they expressed growing optimism as the Chinese overall economy emerges from the shadows of the pandemic.

"The Chinese market is huge. I believe that China will overtake the US as Starbucks' biggest market. The number of our stores in China will exceed 10,000," said Schultz, founder of Starbucks, during his recent visit to China.

US firms, including Coca-Cola, have recently posted their financial results for the first quarter showing that their business in Chinese market has rebounded.

Coca-Cola reported higher-than-expected sales in the first quarter and its business in China edged up, according to financial results released on Monday.

Coca-Cola CEO James Quincey said that higher demand at restaurants and robust new year celebrations in China were a stark comparison with last year's slack and the company is "cautiously optimistic" about the Chinese market.

China's economy beat expectations to grow by 4.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter this year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Consumer spending saw the strongest recovery, contributing 66.6 percent to GDP growth. 

Despite some challenges and tensions in US-China relations, most US companies recognize that there is tremendous potential for business growth by tapping into the massive Chinese consumer market, experts said.

The US is teetering on a recession, with high inflation and growing financial risks, while China is on track to a strong recovery, therefore the business community will surely have  different opinions related to the so-called decoupling calls by some US politicians, Tian Yun, a veteran economist, told the Global Times.