British businesses in China have become more optimistic about their prospects in the country for the first time in three years, a survey suggests.

Polling from the British Chambers of Commerce in China found that just over half (52 percent) of companies were positive about the outlook for 2022, compared with less than one in 10 (9 percent) that were pessimistic. Last year, 49 percent of businesses expressed optimism.

Seven in 10 of those asked said profits for 2021 would match or beat their results for 2021. China's strong economic prospects were the main explanation for improving confidence among the 288 company managers surveyed.

In terms of the challenges of doing business in China, the difficulty of bringing in foreign staff as a result of coronavirus restrictions jumped up the table to the number one spot. There are no direct flights from the UK and strict visa and quarantine restrictions are in place as China seeks to maintain its control of the virus.

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While businesses said they appreciated the stability afforded by the controls, 43 percent identified them as a challenge for employing workers from abroad. 

"Restricted travel into China is now the single most significant issue that British companies face here," the report's authors said. "The decline seen in foreign nationals coming to live, study and work in China is cause for concern."

Cybersecurity and IT regulations were identified as the second biggest brake on business success.

While relations between London and Beijing have deteriorated over the past year, including with an exchange of sanctions on individuals and organizations, the proportion of businesses saying the geopolitical environment had a negative impact on them fell to 51 percent. 

"Difficulties predicting the UK government's policy towards China remains the area that is having the biggest impact on businesses in terms of UK-China relations," the report said, urging greater cooperation by political leaders.