Going Global 2.0: Chinese Companies Build Factories, Brands and Local Ties

By Harry Wu, 21st Century Business Herald, SFC

As a growing number of Chinese companies have scaled up, going global has become an inevitable next step. Sjoerd Leenart, J.P. Morgan’s Asia Pacific CEO, observes that while the expansion of Chinese products around the world continues strongly, its shape and format are changing as well.

“There's no doubt that Chinese companies make amazing products, and the world wants and needs those,” Leenart said in an exclusive interview with 21st Century Business Herald. He noted a strategic shift that there has been less focus on the US and a lot more attention on Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe and Latin America. At the same time, Chinese firms are putting much greater emphasis on branding, becoming very recognizable names globally.

Crucially, they are also building more production facilities abroad. According to Leenart, this helps transfer some of the benefits of production to local communities. “That’s an important consideration, because while these products are very welcome around the world, you also gotta make sure that they have a positive impact on the local economy,” he said.