PALO ALTO, U.S. — Chinese companies are slowly coming back to the U.S. for initial public offerings after a yearlong dry spell, but geopolitical tensions, underperforming market debuts and regulatory uncertainty cast doubts over how long America will remain their preferred overseas destination.

Seventeen Chinese companies raising a total of $405 million made their debut on U.S. exchanges this year, according to data through Oct. 4 from IPO research firm Renaissance Capital. That is already close to surpassing last year’s 14 IPOs, which raised a total of $468 million, though nowhere near the 34 market debuts and $12.6 billion raised in 2021.