New global landscape: Chinese enterprises enter a capability-driven phase of going global

CPA Australia, in collaboration with the Shanghai National Accounting Institute (SNAI) and Deloitte China, has jointly released the report Chinese Enterprises Going Global: Navigating the Next Phase of Global Growth at an outbound investment forum hosted by the organisation.

The report finds that 70 per cent of surveyed companies have already established overseas operations, with 52 per cent having over two years of international experience. Looking ahead, 67 per cent plan to prioritise expansion into new markets or deepen their presence in existing ones, reflecting a move towards a more systematic and strategically driven global approach.

Asia Leads as the Primary Destination for Chinese Enterprises’ Global Expansion

Market expansion remains the primary driver of Chinese companies going global, followed by ambitions to build global brand recognition and diversify regional economic risks. 

Chinese enterprises are increasingly building globally integrated operating networks across five continents. Asia remains the most preferred destination, selected by 74 per cent of respondents, with a key focus on Southeast Asia driven by its market size, demographic advantages, and internet penetration rate. Europe (33 per cent) and South America (26 per cent) follow as key regions of expansion.

Amid global trade tensions and supply chain restructuring, Chinese companies are adopting multi-track expansion strategies to overseas markets. Survey shows that 68 per cent establish overseas subsidiaries or branches to localise operations; 33 per cent pursue joint ventures with local partners to enter market swiftly while 22 per cent expand via export agents or cross-border e-commerce aim at lower entry costs and barriers. This trend reflects an evolution to Chinese enterprises from simple outward expansion to deeper localisation and integration into overseas markets.

Key Challenges: Compliance and Risks Together with Organisation and Talent Emerge as Dual Bottlenecks

As Chinese enterprises shift from scale expansion to high-quality growth, capability building has become central to global competitiveness. The report identifies compliance and risk management, as well as organisation and talent as two most challenging areas to Chinese enterprises in their globalisation journey. 

Survey findings reveal:

• 68 per cent of companies have not established structured overseas risk management frameworks or rely only on basic measures
• 32 per cent lack unified planning and control over overseas capital
• 40 per cent depend on external agents for tax compliance and have limited understanding of local tax regimes
• 59 per cent rely on manual processes or basic financial systems to handle overseas businesses, indicating the room for improvement of financial digitalisation

Mr Collin Jin, President of CPA Australia’s East and Central China Committee and Partner at Deloitte China, said: “Chinese enterprises face increasingly complex and region-specific compliance risks in their globalisation journey, including sanctions and export controls, data compliance, tax compliance, foreign capital and national security review. Many companies remain reactive in their approach, with limited systematic governance capabilities.

In an increasingly uncertain global environment characterised by rising geopolitical tensions and protectionism, tightening capital controls and more complex tax regimes, companies seeking deeper local integration must enhance their financial and tax capabilities in a phased and strategic manner. Early-stage companies should focus on establishing compliance foundations, while those in expansion phases should strengthen centralised control and efficiency. At the global integration stage, the focus should shift towards value creation and building world-wide data-driven governance systems to support long-term growth.”

The shortage of internationally experienced, multidisciplinary talent is particularly pronounced in finance functions. The report highlights that companies place the greatest emphasis on talent’s capabilities like international tax expertise (82 per cent), financial risk management (66 per cent) and international financial reporting standards (54 per cent).

Professor Wenbin Lu, President of SNAI, commented: “Against the backdrop of profound shifts in the global economic landscape and technological paradigms, finance professionals must evolve beyond traditional accounting roles to become strategic partners, resource integrators and stewards of global risk.

To enable this transformation, finance leaders need to develop three core capabilities: global resource allocation, data-driven strategic decision-making, and compliance governance aligned with international standards. This is not only essential for corporate resilience, but also critical to supporting high-quality opening-up of the economy.”

Future Strategy: Global Expansion Shifting from Opportunity-Driven to Capability-Driven 

Chinese enterprises are entering a more advanced stage of globalisation, transitioning from opportunity-driven expansion to capability-driven growth. Over the next one to three years, 67 per cent companies will prioritise market expansion, followed by 52 per cent focusing on business innovation and 48 per cent enhancing organisational capabilities.

At the same time, companies are placing increasing emphasis on strengthening financial and tax management, including standardising overseas financial management processes (53 per cent), enhancing finance team capabilities (48 per cent) and improving global tax management (42 per cent).

This shift is driving growing demand for integrated professional support ecosystems, particularly in financial and tax advisory (64 per cent), policy interpretation (57 per cent) and legal and compliance services (48 per cent). 

Mr Jin added: “Success in global expansion will no longer solely depend on market opportunities, but on the ability to build robust systems and sustain long-term operations. Mid to long-term strategic planning and precise market positioning are on the top priorities; strong operational capabilities, and integrated financial and tax management frameworks are supporting to achieve the goals. Equally important is the development of globally capable talent. Companies should draw on international best practices in financial management from European and American multinational corporations, as well as leading Chinese enterprises with significant overseas operations, to dynamically design and optimise their overseas organisational structures and functions.  Where necessary, companies should partner with professional service organisations such as Deloitte to build integrated global governance systems that align business operations, finance, capital and taxation, supported by data-driven insights to enable sustainable growth.

Professor Lu further noted: “The shortage of global talent has become a critical constraint on Chinese companies’ international expansion. As globalisation is a dynamic process, building finance capabilities requires continuous learning rather than one-off training. Enterprises and professionals should leverage platforms such as SNAI and CPA Australia to benchmark against global best practices and pursue ongoing development.”

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Cecilia Li
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