TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — More than three-quarters of American Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan (AmCham) member companies said they were not affected by the recent Chinese military drills around the country, according to an AmCham press release issued on Friday (Aug. 19).

The poll, which was carried out from Aug. 8-17, found that of the 126 out of 529 AmCham Taiwan member organizations that responded, 77% said their business had not been significantly impacted.

However, 17% said they had experienced disruption, a third of which said they were hit with increased shipping or insurance costs or supply chain delays. Almost half of the 17% said that the changes were due to new policies or “other manifestations of concern” from their headquarters, per AmCham.

With regard to ramped up Chinese military aggression from 2022-2023, 46% of the companies surveyed predicted such a trend would affect their operations, while the rest were either unsure or did not expect to be affected.

Companies ranked general tension, including disinformation and psychological campaigns targeting Taiwan, as their primary concern in the coming year. Meanwhile, regional political or economic barriers and general sanctions and travel bans against Taiwan products and people were the second and third most worrying factors for companies, respectively.

The companies’ average level of concern about severe action being taken against Taiwan in the next two years was 2.8, when rating on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being not concerned at all and 5 being extremely concerned, according to AmCham.

AmCham Taiwan President Andrew Wylegala said China’s increasing aggression against Taiwan has highlighted the significance of backing “Taiwan’s resilience” through more economic cooperation and integration. “Our Chamber has been calling for an ambitious agenda to accelerate economic cooperation with Taiwan through the 21st Century Trade Initiative, a double taxation avoidance agreement, and, eventually, via a bilateral trade agreement,” he added.

Taiwan and the U.S. announced plans on Thursday (Aug. 18) to commence negotiations on a trade deal in the fall via the U.S.-Taiwan Initiative on 21st-Century Trade.