Going global: key trends for Chinese companies going global in 2025

As global economic integration continues to deepen, Chinese companies are standing at the top of a new wave of going global. What new trends will Chinese companies' globalization journey present in 2025? This article deeply analyzes the key trends of Chinese companies going global for your reference.

In the first three quarters of 2024, the total value of China's import and export of goods was 32.33 trillion yuan, breaking 32 trillion yuan for the first time in history, an increase of 5.3% year-on-year, and the foreign trade structure continued to optimize. Chinese new energy vehicle brands continue to break through innovation, and BYD Pioneer Store opened next to Milan Cathedral; consumer electronics brands lead the industry trend and show strong competitiveness in the world; "Black Myth: Wukong" has achieved great success worldwide and won the British Golden Joystick Best Game...

In the past two years, "If you don't go overseas, you're out" has become a consensus among many Chinese companies. With the domestic market becoming saturated and domestic demand growth slowing down, globalization has become a new direction for corporate development. From traditional manufacturing to Internet technology, from consumer goods to high-end services, Chinese companies are constantly expanding overseas, winning the favor of the international market through technological innovation, localized operations and brand building. Chinese companies' overseas expansion is gradually getting rid of the past low-price competition model and moving towards technology, brand, and even cultural leadership.

As 2025 approaches, the environment facing Chinese companies going overseas will become more complex in the context of the anti-globalization trend. Based on the past experience of Chinese companies going overseas, combined with the experience of industrial and social development, this article summarizes the trend of Chinese companies going overseas in 2025.

Trend 1: Competitive advantages in the digital and intelligent era will continue to lead the wave of Chinese companies going overseas

The world-leading practices of Chinese companies in the era of digitalization and intelligence are an important advantage for them to expand overseas markets. This advantage comes from the rich experience, data resources, and continuously innovative business models accumulated in China's complex and diverse market environment. As these capabilities are "exported", more and more Chinese companies have won wide recognition in the global market.

With its technological advantages in big data, AI and cloud computing, Huawei Cloud has successfully entered emerging markets such as the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, providing infrastructure and solutions for the digital transformation of enterprises in these regions. According to the 2024 Tencent Global Digital Ecosystem Conference, as of September 2024, Tencent Cloud has established 58 availability zones around the world, supporting more than 3,200 acceleration nodes. Its customers include Telkomsel in Indonesia and the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority in the UAE. Its cloud services cover multiple industries such as games, e-commerce, social networking and automobiles. Baishan Cloud has deployed more than 1,700 edge nodes in more than 300 cities in more than 50 countries and regions around the world, and has achieved remarkable results in emerging markets along the Belt and Road Initiative and in Southeast Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, Central Asia, and South America.

In addition to building digital infrastructure, Chinese companies have also brought mature Internet business models overseas. Meituan's Keeta food delivery platform has actively expanded, launching in Hong Kong in May 2023, in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia in September 2024, and in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October.

It is foreseeable that with the continuous breakthroughs and innovations in Chinese science and technology and the continued exploration of the commercialization of AI technology, the commercial innovation of Chinese technology companies will continue to lead the trend of going overseas and bring China's digital and intelligent business achievements to all parts of the world.

Trend 2: From hot-selling products to brand building

With the help of the overseas influence of China's cross-border e-commerce platforms, many brands have taken the first step in going overseas by creating hit products. However, in the long run, brand building is essential to occupy consumers' minds for a long time and obtain higher economic returns. This is also a long-term trend for Chinese companies to go overseas in the future.

Anker Innovations is a good example. Initially, Anker sold cost-effective mobile power banks through Amazon and accumulated many loyal users with its excellent product strength. Subsequently, Anker gradually developed into a multi-category international brand covering charging equipment, smart home and audio-visual entertainment, and further consolidated its brand image through localized teams and precision marketing. Today, Anker has established a global reputation and has become a successful example of cross-border e-commerce branding.

In the cross-border e-commerce industry, the previously popular low-price distribution and hosting model is facing challenges, and more and more countries have strengthened supervision of Chinese cross-border e-commerce platforms. On Amazon, Chinese cross-border sellers have also experienced a wave of store closures due to compliance issues. White-label products can only receive very limited traffic exposure on Amazon, and are easily reported for intellectual property infringement. Even individual sellers are encouraged to register trademarks and create their own brands.

For enterprises going overseas, brand building can enhance the recognition and trust of overseas markets, help enterprises consolidate their competitive advantages, and enhance customer loyalty. Whether considering changes in the external environment or starting from the needs of the enterprise's own development, Chinese enterprises going overseas will move towards brand building.

Trend 3: From exporting products to exporting supply chains

As Chinese companies' internationalization process deepens, they have gradually built an ecosystem covering the entire industry overseas. Node Finance predicts that in 2025, Chinese companies will continue to maintain the trend of coordinating the industrial chain when going overseas in their advantageous industries.

Take the global super brand MINISO as an example. Relying on China's strong manufacturing base, it has established an efficient supply chain network to achieve high-quality and low-cost commodity production. In terms of product design, MINISO cooperates with designer teams from many countries and regions to make its products have both local characteristics and international aesthetics to meet the needs of consumers from different cultural backgrounds. In terms of retail network building, MINISO has opened about 7,420 stores worldwide, covering more than 112 countries and regions, forming a widely covered global retail network.

In the field of cross-border e-commerce, the coordinated development of China's e-commerce industry has also been brought overseas. Take AliExpress as an example. It has been deeply cooperating with Cainiao Logistics since its overseas expansion: AliExpress provides Cainiao Logistics with a large number of orders, and Cainiao Logistics provides fast and stable delivery services for AliExpress's products, greatly improving consumers' shopping experience and enhancing consumers' satisfaction and loyalty to the platform. This coordinated development not only improves the operational efficiency of cross-border e-commerce, but also accelerates the improvement of local logistics infrastructure.

In addition, China's new energy vehicle industry has achieved remarkable success in the global market in recent years, and has continuously upgraded its overseas expansion model. From the initial overseas expansion of products, to the overseas expansion of production capacity, and now the overseas expansion of the entire industrial chain, Chinese new energy vehicle companies are driving upstream and downstream companies (such as batteries, materials, charging piles, etc.) to actively explore overseas markets. Through this collaborative layout, Chinese companies have built a complete supply chain system on a global scale, which has not only improved the support of the overseas automotive industry chain, but also further reduced production costs, and improved production efficiency and service levels.

From retail to e-commerce, and then to new energy vehicles, Chinese companies are demonstrating the "China solution" to globalization with practical actions, and are gradually promoting the optimization and upgrading of the global industrial chain.

Trend 4: Deeper localization operations

Although many companies go overseas with successful domestic experience and relatively complete methodologies, they are still inevitably not able to adapt to the local environment, especially in markets such as Europe and the United States, which have large cultural differences with China. In China, shared bicycles are spread all over the country and have become the best solution to the "last mile" commuting problem of urban residents. However, when entrepreneurs from China tried to bring this solution to the United States, they found many problems. On the one hand, bicycles are not suitable for long-distance riding. On the other hand, the terrain, riding habits and infrastructure in the United States are more suitable for electric transportation. Based on in-depth research on the needs of local residents, this shared bicycle brand launched electric motorcycles and electric skateboards, which quickly achieved success and quickly expanded to Europe, Asia and South America, becoming a global shared travel brand.

We can also see some experience from the localized operations of overseas brands in China. In product development, for example, McDonald's has developed a localized menu for China, and Nike has launched designs with traditional Chinese cultural elements. In sales channels, many international brands have actively joined Chinese e-commerce platforms, set up live broadcast rooms, and become familiar with the shopping habits of local consumers. In service innovation, for example, IKEA has added home delivery and installation services in China to cater to the Chinese consumers' demand for convenience.

When multinational companies conduct local operations, they should consider what they can bring to the local area. Especially in the current complex international environment and strict economic scrutiny, companies going overseas should think more about how to make commitments to local political stakeholders, such as relying on local labor, driving the growth of local supply chain companies, and promoting the development of the regional economic ecology.

Trend 5: A wider range of overseas destinations

Chinese companies often show distinct characteristics when choosing overseas destinations. More mature business models or more advantageous brands are usually more likely to succeed in mature markets such as Europe and the United States, because these regions have high consumer demand and strong paying ability; under the advocacy of national policies, countries along the "Belt and Road" have also become Chinese companies' preferred overseas destinations; in recent years, Southeast Asia has long become a popular overseas destination due to its cultural customs that are similar to those of China...

However, as more and more countries impose tariffs on Chinese products, the pace of globalization of Chinese companies is accelerating, and the strategic value of "connector" countries is becoming increasingly prominent. "Connector" countries refer to countries that play a connecting role in the global economy, geopolitics and supply chain networks. For example, Vietnam plays a bridging role in the market trade between China and Southeast Asia and China and the United States; Mexico is an important node connecting China with the North American and Latin American markets; and Hungary has become a bridgehead for Chinese companies to enter the European market. Bringing production capacity to these "connector" countries, investing in local factories, and even creating new brands are a roundabout way for Chinese companies to avoid tariffs from developed countries in Europe and the United States. "Node Finance" predicts that the strategic position of these countries will become more important in the future.

Trend 6: The global influence of Chinese culture is further enhanced, which contains new industry opportunities

In the first half of 2024, Pop Mart's Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and overseas business revenue was 1.35 billion, of which Southeast Asia accounted for 41.1%. In July this year, Pop Mart's celebrity friend LABUBU made a heavy debut in Bangkok, Thailand. The scene and treatment of picking up LABUBU at the airport were comparable to those of a popular star. The Thai government held a grand welcome ceremony for LABUBU and awarded LABUBU the honorary title of "Magical Thailand Experience Officer".

Pop Mart is very popular in Thailand, and the influence of Chinese lifestyle and culture is increasing. Just as we admired European and American culture many years ago, Chinese culture is conquering other less developed regions in the context of China's growing economic strength. This year, Li Ziqi's comeback has become a hot topic on the global Internet; under the policy of limited-time transit visa exemption, more and more foreigners come to China to learn about China; in addition to the success of Black Wukong, Chinese mini-games have long been popular around the world; Tencent Video's overseas version WeTV has covered more than 200 countries and regions; China's short dramas are also in full swing overseas... In the future, China's entertainment industry still has great potential overseas.

Challenges remain for Chinese companies going overseas

Although Chinese enterprises have made remarkable achievements in the process of internationalization, they still face many challenges. First, the international market is complex, trade protectionism is on the rise, and tariff barriers, policy and regulatory differences and cultural conflicts have increased the difficulty of exporting. Second, technological competition is fierce, core technology is limited and products are homogeneous, making it difficult to form a competitive advantage. Third, localized operations are difficult, from supply chains to sales channels, they are often out of touch with local needs, and cross-cultural management also brings coordination difficulties.

In the face of these challenges, Chinese companies need a more systematic strategic layout and a deeper global mindset. In 2025, we also look forward to Chinese companies continuing to shine on the global stage and bringing better products and more thoughtful services to people around the world.

Text/ Shijie