As China’s economy moves further towards high‑quality development and Mainland enterprises’ global competitive edge continues to widen, an increasing number of domestic enterprises are proactively expanding business overseas in search of room for growth and new opportunities. With global supply chains being restructured, companies are going global at an increasing pace. They are expanding their international presence through outward investment, establishing production bases and pursuing mergers and acquisitions. They are also building overseas marketing networks and making more use of professional services to bolster expansion. 

China’s 15th Five-Year Plan, unveiled in March, emphasises the importance of openness and co‑operation for overseas success. It reaffirms an emphasis on high‑quality development via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to help facilitate domestic growth. In recent years, the emerging markets in ASEAN, Central Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America have grown strongly. At the same time, industry supply chain diversification, demographic growth, urbanisation and increased consumption have also generated opportunities. Against this backdrop, a growing number of Mainland enterprises have extended their “going out” strategy from traditional mature markets to countries along the BRI and other emerging economies.

The Hong Kong SAR government is making considerable effort to capture the opportunities from Mainland enterprises’ accelerating pace of international expansion. The GoGlobal Task Force, launched in October 2025, aims to bring together Hong Kong’s financial, business networking and government resources to provide stronger and more comprehensive support for these expanding enterprises, bolstering the SAR’s position as an international financial, trade and business hub. 

However, the global business environment is still highly challenging for many Mainland companies. Geopolitics is increasingly complex, trade protectionism is on the rise and regulatory requirements and sustainability standards are becoming more stringent. Enterprises seeking international expansion must, therefore, attach greater importance to risk management, compliant operations, ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues, supply chain resilience, and business sustainability. 

Hong Kong has long been a foothold for Mainland enterprises seeking to “go out”. The SAR is not only the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Mainland, but also the leading destination for Mainland enterprises’ foreign investment outflow. According to the Statistical Bulletin of Foreign Direct Investment in China 2025, by the end of 2024 the cumulative utilised capital inflow from Hong Kong was US$1,755.3 billion, accounting for 56.8% of the national total. Furthermore, according to the 2024 Statistical Bulletin of China's Outward Foreign Direct Investment, by the end of 2024, cumulative FDI going to Hong Kong reached US$1,920.8 billion (61.2% of the total outflow of FDI).  

Thanks to its highly internationalised business environment, sound legal system, free capital and information flows, and strong professional services, Hong Kong can provide Mainland enterprises with services across a variety of fronts, including marketing, capital management, cross‑boundary risk management, legal and tax consultancy, and supply chain management, helping them tap into the global market. 

China’s national policies have also helped strengthen Hong Kong’s “super connector” and “super value‑adder” roles. The 15th Five-Year Plan aims to assist Hong Kong in better integrating into and serving the nation’s overall development strategy, improving its participation in high‑quality BRI co‑operation, and further consolidating its key role of connecting the Mainland with the international markets. As Mainland enterprises quicken their global expansion, Hong Kong is bound to play a yet more important role. 

  Mainland enterprises are “going out” at a faster pace, with Hong Kong supporting deeper international collaboration. (shutterstock.com)
 

Thematic questionnaire survey

Against this backdrop, the HKTDC commissioned a market research agency to conduct a thematic questionnaire survey [1] on the Chinese Mainland in early 2026. This survey, based on the Going Out survey carried out by the HKTDC in the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in 2023[2], covered a much larger area stretching from the Pearl River Delta (PRD), Yangtze River Delta (YRD) and Bohai Rim to the Central and Western regions on the Mainland. Respondents to the survey were Mainland enterprises engaged in foreign business but did not include government organisations, chambers of commerce, industry associations or foreign‑invested enterprises. The main objective of the survey was to understand more about Mainland enterprises’ current and future “going out” strategies, including their overseas business operations, challenges and specific demands for professional services.

A total of 2,015 enterprises responded to the survey, including 1,008 manufacturing enterprises (including trading companies) and 1,007 service companies. 

• The enterprises surveyed were mainly engaged in business on the Chinese Mainland. The offshore business of manufacturing enterprises was mostly sales, accounting for 38% on average. As for service companies, their business overseas was primarily providing services to corporate clients, accounting for 34% on average. 
• By number of employees, the respondents were mainly medium-sized enterprises, accounting for about 50% of the total. Small-sized enterprises and large-scale ones accounted for 30% and 20% respectively. 
• In the past 12 months, the revenue of the manufacturing enterprises was between RMB500-1,000 million (27%) and RMB300-500 million (26%), whereas the range of service company revenue was relatively narrow.

Related articles: 

Hong Kong: The Premier “Go Global” Service Platform 

Mainland Industries Embracing “Go Global” Diversification 

Emerging Trends in Going Global Across Different Regions 

Mainland Enterprises Tapping into ASEAN Opportunities

Mainland Enterprises’ Global Expansion: Hong Kong – The Premier Service Platform

[1] For more details on the 2026 survey, please see Mainland Enterprises’ Global Expansion: Hong Kong – The Premier Service Platform

[2] For more details on the 2023 survey, please see Hong Kong: The Premier Platform for Mainland Companies to Expand into the BRI and RCEP Markets