BEIJING, May 10Reuters The proportion of European firms that rank China as a top investment destination has hit a record low, a European business lobby group said on Friday, warning that it could take years to restore confidence in the world39;s No.2 economy.

The European Union Chamber of Commerce in China said in the latest edition of its Business Confidence Survey that the outlook for doing business in China was also at its lowest in the report39;s 20year history, with over a quarter of respondents pessimistic about their current growth potential and 44 downbeat over future prospects.

With China39;s economy facing headwinds and President Xi Jinping urging selfreliance and for officials to push on with a productionfocused, debt driven development model despite pushback from the West, foreign firms are feeling less welcome than before.

EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and French President Emmanuel Macron urged Xi on Monday to ensure more balanced trade with Europe, but the Chinese leader showed little sign of being ready to offer major concessions while in Paris.

There are worrying signs that some European companies are either siloing operations or scaling down their ambitions in China as the challenges they face start to outweigh the benefits of being here, Jens Eskelund, the chamber39;s president, said.

While the Chinese government is frequently signalling its intent to improve the business environment, we now need to see concrete action to restore…