Despite moderation in the Chinese economy, U.S.-based companies remain upbeat on the near-term outlook of their businesses in the country.

Over three quarters of respondents indicated that they are optimistic about how their companies will perform over the next two years, according to the Business Climate Survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in China.

U.S. companies turned out strong performances in China last year, as 71 percent of respondents said they posted sales growths in 2012 and 44 percent reported better operating margins in China than the global average, according to the annual survey conducted among 325 member companies of the chamber.

More U.S. businesses are oriented toward selling in the Chinese market, rather than seeing the country only as a processing and export hub. The percentage of respondents who said their goal this year is to sell directly to China reached a record high of 71 percent.

However, the percentage of respondents who plan to increase investment by 21-50 percent dropped from about 30-18 percent over the past four years.

The results reflect a slightly more conservative business outlook amid China's focus on promoting higher-quality economic expansion in an era of rebalancing, the chamber said.