After breaking free from the "Euro-American centric" mindset, what aspects should companies focus on when going global? | Global Expansion Insights

The European and American markets, as the world's largest consumer markets, are the primary targets for 80% of Chinese enterprises going global. However, trade frictions and tariff fluctuations have made this path increasingly difficult. Globalization and multi - market layout have become the necessary countermeasures for enterprises.

In this context, how enterprises can find the adaptability in the changing environment - understanding global rules while being rooted in local markets, making good use of technological tools while adhering to compliance bottom lines - has become the key to "breaking the situation" and "entering the game". Recently, at the 2025 "From 'Ingenuity' to 'the World'" Going Global Conference jointly hosted by 36Kr and Qiantang Construction and Investment Group, we specially organized a round - table discussion on the topic of shifting from "single - market dependence" to "global resilient layout". The core viewpoints are as follows:

Xiao Qijing, the Party secretary of Holley Group: In the multi - market layout strategy, enterprises should break away from the "Europe - America - centered" thinking and pay attention to local and regional integration opportunities, such as the consumption potential and regional tariff advantages of ASEAN markets like Thailand.

Winston Mao, the representative of the large - customer team of Amazon Global Selling: Chinese sellers have achieved growth by expanding into markets such as Canada and Europe, showing strong resilience.

Zhang Fei, the general manager of the new business development department of LinkedIn's talent solutions in the Chinese market: In the initial stage of global talent layout, enterprises should proceed with caution. Only after running through the market can they build a team to avoid the costs of hasty team - building.

Bu Rui, a partner at Fangda Partners' Beijing/Hong Kong office: AI technology, cloud service providers, and law firms complement each other in the application of digital technology, jointly contributing to efficiency improvement. However, technology cannot directly replace lawyers in solving complex compliance issues.

01 Breaking Single - market Dependence and Building a Multi - market Strategy

"In the early days, 80% of Chinese enterprises going global targeted the European and American markets. However, trade frictions and tariff fluctuations have made this path increasingly difficult. The frequent anti - dumping measures faced by industries such as photovoltaics and new energy are examples." Xiao Qijing said that the first step in global layout is to break the dependence on a single market and find growth points in diversified markets.

He shared the past experience of Holley Group: It started building factories overseas in 2000 and established three industrial parks in Thailand, Mexico, and Uzbekistan in 2005, and an agricultural park in Cambodia. He believes that enterprises need to break away from the "Europe - America - centered" thinking and pay attention to local market and regional integration opportunities. Taking Thailand as an example, its per capita GDP has increased from more than $2,800 in 2005 to an estimated $7,500 in 2025, continuously releasing local consumption potential. Meanwhile, the tariff exemption agreements within the ASEAN region have made the regional market a new growth pole. "While maintaining the existing markets, in - depth cultivation of local and regional markets is necessary to build a multi - market pattern with risk resistance."

The multi - market logic mentioned by Xiao Qijing has already been practiced in the cross - border e - commerce field. Winston Mao shared the transformation cases of Chinese sellers on the platform: "Among Amazon's 20 global sites, except for the United States, markets such as Canada, Europe, Japan, and Mexico have all grown rapidly. Many sellers who originally focused on North America have achieved triple - digit growth in the European market this year."

He particularly praised the resilience of Chinese sellers: "Even in the face of external uncertainties, Chinese enterprises can still maintain their competitiveness in the global market by virtue of their supply - chain advantages and local operations."

The expansion into multiple markets cannot be achieved without the support of global talents. When enterprises move from a single market to the global stage, upgrading the talent strategy has become the key to breaking through the "last mile". Zhang Fei suggested that if an enterprise decides to enter multiple countries, it should accumulate a talent pool in these countries in advance and establish a global talent supply - chain system.

He divided the global talent layout of enterprises into three stages: In the initial stage, enterprises should proceed with caution: "Enterprises should send internal backbones to explore the market and test the market through channels such as Amazon to avoid the cost risks of hasty team - building."

After the market potential is verified, the talent layout enters the systematic construction stage. The key at this step is not only to "find the right people" but also to "attract and retain them". The employer brand plays a decisive role behind this. He further explained that there is a fundamental difference between the employer brand and the commercial brand: "The commercial brand focuses on explicit values such as product quality and cost - performance, while the employer brand focuses on deep - seated attractions such as the enterprise background, salary and benefits, promotion opportunities, and even the office environment."

When an enterprise enters the stage of in - depth local cultivation, cultural integration has become a new issue in talent management. Zhang Fei shared a successful case: "This enterprise's business covers 14 major regions and deeply understands the importance of 'using local people to manage local people'. They selected outstanding local employees to be trained at the Chinese headquarters for three months, enabling them to deeply understand the corporate culture and core technologies while retaining their insights into the local market. After returning, these talents became the management backbones connecting China and foreign countries, improving the operational efficiency of cross - cultural teams."

02 AI Digital Technology: Don't Overestimate in the Short Term, Don't Underestimate in the Long Term

In the global layout, digital technology is a powerful tool for improving efficiency, but it may also pose risks due to legal compliance oversights. How to find a balance between technological empowerment and compliance bottom lines is an unavoidable issue for enterprises going global.

Bu Rui pointed out that AI, cloud service providers, and law firms complement each other: "When enterprises go global, they can quickly complete market research, regulations retrieval, and acquisition of business resources with the help of technologies such as AI and cloud services. However, technology has its limitations - low compliance level and intellectual property risks, and the legal department needs to build a systematic prevention and control mechanism." He emphasized that lawyers' work will not be replaced by AI. Instead, they will be liberated from basic tasks and focus more on solving complex problems.

Zhang Fei supplemented the boundaries of technology application from the platform perspective: "For senior recruiters, AI may only be an auxiliary tool; but for beginners, AI can significantly improve efficiency." He believes that a rational attitude of "not overestimating in the short term and not underestimating in the long term" should be adopted towards the value of digital technologies such as AI. At the same time, he believes that the principle of fairness should be adhered to in technology application. "In recent years, Chinese AI technology has led in some function iterations overseas. However, in the future, more attention should be paid to compliance, privacy protection, and fairness issues in technology popularization. Data should not be concentrated in the hands of a few large companies, and technology should become an inclusive tool."

03 "Going Global Together" to Reduce Costs

When an enterprise's global layout enters the deep - water zone, the importance of ecological collaboration becomes more prominent. Whether it is the optimization of the operation mode or the construction of the compliance system, it requires "joint efforts" rather than "going alone".

Xiao Qijing shared the reflections on Chinese enterprises building factories overseas: "Many Chinese enterprises like to buy land and build their own factories, thinking that they can save 3 - 5% of the costs. However, this model is likely to turn into a 'migratory factory' - once the tariff policy changes, the factory may be semi - abandoned, and the investment costs cannot be recovered." He suggested that except for heavy - asset industries such as steel mills, enterprises should give priority to leasing standard factories: "Production can start in six months, which can not only respond quickly to the market but also reduce risks."

Xiao Qijing also particularly emphasized the value of "going global together": "The improvement of intelligent manufacturing level has reduced the difficulty of overseas management for Chinese enterprises. Going global together with supply - chain partners can further reduce costs and improve efficiency."

This collaborative thinking also applies in the compliance field. Bu Rui explained: "The compliance requirements of enterprises going global involve multiple countries. We will classify them according to difficulty - Europe and America as the first level, Southeast Asia as the second level, and friendly countries as the third level. Then, according to different types such as data compliance and export control, we will allocate corresponding legal teams. For example, data compliance may require the leadership of local lawyers, while cross - border mergers and acquisitions are more suitable to be led by Chinese lawyers."

This article is from the WeChat official account "Hangzhou Qiantang Enterprise Going Global Service Base". Author: Zhejiang Enterprises Going Global. Published with the authorization of Qiantang.