Emerging Trends in Mainland Enterprises’ Global Expansion Strategies

The HKTDC commissioned a market research agency to conduct a thematic questionnaire survey on the Chinese Mainland in early 2026. In the survey responses, 95% of participants indicated they were interested in developing their business abroad, a percentage not much higher than the 90% found in the 2023 survey. Among these enterprises, 82% planned to expand their current overseas business while 63% said they would explore new business opportunities offshore. Manufacturing enterprises tended to further develop their current overseas business (87%) by expanding production, sourcing or sales networks abroad, whereas service companies were more ready to explore new business offshore (68%) to look for growth.

Chart: Further Developing Business Overseas

Mature and emerging markets

Of the Mainland survey respondents, 94% said their target markets for further expansion overseas were mainly regions along the BRI routes. Some 91% of respondents chose ASEAN as one of their destinations for such business activities as expanding sales, building regional supply chains and advancing collaboration in R&D. These figures are higher than those in the 2023 survey.

BRI countries and regions

In the latest survey, 94% of enterprises were interested in expanding business into countries and regions associated with the BRI, a figure higher than the 73% recorded in 2023. This shows more companies are exploring opportunities in emerging markets.

ASEAN

Enterprises were particularly keen on expanding business in ASEAN, with 91% intending to do so, a percentage much higher than the 58% recorded for 2023. More than 40% of the surveyed enterprises chose Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and/or Indonesia.

Developed countries and regions

In addition to ASEAN, Mainland enterprises opted for developed countries and regions for business expansion, with the figures for Japan (41%) and Korea (38%) rising markedly. The share for developed countries in Europe (48%) also climbed, while that of the US and Canada (47%) stayed at the same level.

Developing regions

A number of respondents indicated that they were exploring opportunities in developing countries and regions. The percentage of Mainland enterprises looking to tap into the Middle East increased from 33% in 2023 to 46%, while the percentage of those with a focus in Latin America jumped from 17% to 34%.

Chart: Major Destinations for Expanding Business Overseas

Directions of overseas expansion

More than 90% of respondents in each industry sector planned to “go global”. Among manufacturing enterprises, those engaged in electronic products, parts and components, and in new energy equipment accounted for the majority. In the service sector, those engaged in digital technology took the lion’s share.

Table: Overseas Expansion by Sector Segmentation

Manufacturing and service companies chose broadly similar market destinations for overseas expansion. By region, their common destination was ASEAN. However, their targeted destinations for production bases varied. Manufacturing enterprises tended to prefer setting up production bases in Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam (50%) and Thailand (46%), while service providers favoured advanced economies, such as the developed European countries (54%), Singapore (54%), and the US / Canada (53%).

Table: Manufacturing/Service Industries’ Destinations for Overseas Expansion