BEIJING (AP) — A business group says American companies in China increasingly worry U.S.-Chinese relations will deteriorate and are "hedging their bets" by delaying investment or moving operations.

Tuesday's report by the American Chamber of Commerce in China sounded a note of caution amid optimistic official statements about possible progress toward settling a U.S.-Chinese tariff war.

It said companies ranked "bilateral tensions" as a top challenge alongside chronic frustrations with rising costs and unclear laws and enforcement in the state-dominated economy.

The chamber said 37 percent of 314 companies that responded to a survey in November and December expect relations to deteriorate, more than double 2017's level of 16 percent.

The report added to signs of the growing long-term impact of the battle over Beijing's technology ambitions.