Going global ：Prospects and challenges for Chinese companies on the world stage

Introduction
Over the past quarter-century, China has achieved
phenomenal economic growth – primarily through a
combination of exports, massive infrastructure spending
and gradual market liberalization – culminating in China’s
entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001.
Many economists now project China’s economy will
surpass the size of the U.S. economy by 2035.
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Chinese companies will undoubtedly accelerate their
global activities in line with China’s ascent as a major
economic power. By “global,” we mean much more than
simply exporting – companies need to possess the right
combination of management capabilities, innovation,
market savvy and an overseas footprint to compete on
a worldwide scale and extend their presence across
industry value chains. While some Chinese companies
will globalize organically, we anticipate many others
will pursue joint ventures, strategic partnerships, or
mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to accelerate their
global presence. Lenovo’s recent purchase of the IBM
Personal Computer (PC) Division, SAIC’s 50.6 percent
acquisition of Korea’s Ssangyong,
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China National
Petroleum Corporation’s (CNPC) US$4.2 billion acquisition
of PetroKazakhstan3
and Haier’s unsuccessful bid for
Maytag in 2005 highlight Chinese companies’ ambitions
to expand globally by securing assets and capabilities
that can enhance their competitiveness – not only in
foreign markets, but also in China.
Which Chinese industries and companies hold the
best prospects for becoming global players? What
parallels and “lessons learned” can be drawn from
Japan and Korea? What are the challenges facing
Chinese companies going global? What strategies and
operational capabilities must companies have in place to
succeed? These and other questions were the focus of
our research on the globalization of Chinese companies
over the next decade.
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