According to a recent HKTDC survey, Chinese Mainland enterprises are “going global” at full steam, with many adopting the “ASEAN + technology industry” model to expand their business internationally. Enterprises across the Mainland are using Hong Kong as a service platform, complemented by Mainland service support, to “go global” and explore opportunities.

• 95% of Chinese Mainland enterprises surveyed plan to “go global” on a greater scale in the next two years. Across all major regions – including the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Bohai Rim, and Central and Western regions – over 90% of enterprises are interested in expanding into overseas markets. This shows that internationalisation has become a general development direction pursued by Mainland companies.
• The ASEAN region (91%) is the premier “go-global” destination for enterprises in the four major regions, while Europe and North America are also key expansion targets. Across regions, overseas expansion is primarily concentrated in sectors such as new energy equipment, high technology, electronic products and parts and components. As for the services sector, digital technology takes centre stage, indicating that AI and technology are becoming the main force driving enterprises in “going global”.
• Over 80% of enterprises across the major regions choose Hong Kong’s supporting services in the course of “going global”, underscoring the city’s key role as a service hub in their pursuit of internationalisation, as well as its unique advantages in aspects such as cross-border operations, professional services and international networks.

National drive for enterprises to “go global”

According to the HKTDC’s survey data, 95% of participating Chinese Mainland enterprises plan to “go global” at greater scale in the coming two years. Breaking this down further, 82% plan to expand their existing overseas business, while 63% will explore new foreign markets. The overall pace of internationalisation is picking up.

In each of the major regions, over 90% of enterprises indicated that they intend to expand their overseas business. Interest among enterprises in doing so is highest in the Bohai Rim, at 97%. This indicates that enterprises in that region are quickening their pace in order to catch up with regions that established a presence in overseas markets at an earlier stage. Following closely after the Bohai Rim are the PRD (95%), Central and Western regions (95%) and the YRD (94%). These figures reveal that Mainland enterprises overall are eager to “go global”.

Clear focus on ASEAN, Europe and America 

Where expanding overseas business is concerned, regions along the Belt and Road Initiative remain the top choice for Mainland enterprises “going global”, with 94% of respondents saying that priority would be given to these regions and 91% specifying the ASEAN market. Enterprises in the PRD (91%) and Bohai Rim (93%) are most eager to further expand in the ASEAN market, with 89% of their counterparts in the YRD and Central and Western regions indicating this intention.  

Moreover, 49% of PRD and Bohai Rim enterprises hope to tap the advanced markets of Europe, with 47% of their counterparts in the YRD and Central and Western regions expressing this intent. These figures suggest enterprises place greater emphasis on Europe in terms of market diversification and business distribution. By comparison, North America (the US and Canada) is less attractive to PRD enterprises, with only 41% planning to expand their business there in the next two years, lower than the 48%‑49% of enterprises in the other regions. 

AI and new tech proving prime drivers 

Among companies planning to “go global” on a greater scale, the new energy equipment sector shows the strongest momentum, with 98% of respondents in this sector indicating an intention to expand their overseas business. This is followed closely by the high‑tech industry, at 96%. Within the services sector, meanwhile, the construction engineering industry (99%) is the most eager to “go global”. With internationalisation becoming the mainstream trend among Chinese Mainland enterprises, the difference in interest in “going global” among enterprises in the various regions is not significant. 
 

In terms of the distribution of enterprises seeking to “go global”, manufacturing enterprises are mainly concentrated in electronic products, parts and components (accounting for the highest proportion) and new energy equipment (coming second). In the services sector, digital technology represents the dominant field for overseas expansion.   
 

By region, the distribution of “go global” enterprises tallies with the characteristics of local industrial clustering. In the PRD, consumer goods manufacturers take the lead; in the YRD, a high concentration of new energy equipment industry players is found; and in the Bohai Rim and Central and Western regions, makers of electronic products, parts and components account for the largest share. This distribution pattern reflects the leading role of local priority industries in expanding international business. 
 

In the services sector, digital technology is the leading field for overseas expansion across all major regions, covering emerging industries such as artificial intelligence, the low‑altitude economy and embodied intelligence. This shows that the digital economy is gradually becoming an important force propelling the services sector to “go global”. 

Hong Kong: The key services hub 

The majority of enterprises (83%) choose to use Hong Kong services to support their “go‑global” ambitions, meaning that Hong Kong is the premier service platform for Mainland enterprises in this endeavour. Over 80% of enterprises in all the major regions choose Hong Kong as their service platform. This shows that Hong Kong services are not only widely recognised by enterprises across all regions, but also offer significant advantages in cross‑border business development, professional services, and international networks.  
 

It is worth noting that 78% of enterprises also use services offered by providers in different Mainland provinces and cities. Breaking this down, the share of enterprises in the Bohai Rim is the highest, at 81%, indicating that enterprises in this region are most eager to integrate Mainland resources as they “go global”.   
 

In addition, some enterprises said they would consider using professional services provided by other overseas regions, including Singapore, Germany and the US, to complement their diversified international business planning. On the whole, enterprises tend to use the diversified service configuration of “Hong Kong + Chinese Mainland + overseas” to “go global”, testifying to the firm position of Hong Kong as a key service hub.  

[Note: HKTDC Research will release a detailed report of this survey later.] 

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