Globalization has become an inevitable strategic choice for Chinese enterprises. Nevertheless, companies face substantial challenges when going global. These include external risks stemming from fluctuations and uncertainties in the global political, economic and financial landscape, as well as the complexity and disparities of international markets across regions. Internally, enterprises must achieve comprehensive upgrading of capabilities covering corporate culture, management, talent teams and infrastructure to adapt to global operations.
Launched as part of our Afternoon Tea events, the HKAII Enterprise Globalization Series shares corporate case studies to explore core challenges encountered by Chinese enterprises in overseas expansion. By summarizing proven best practices, we distill key success factors, providing a full-spectrum perspective and actionable practical experience for Chinese companies going global.
On a sunny afternoon of November 5, 2025, a group of senior professionals from the industrial and investment sectors gathered for the inaugural seminar of the HKAII Enterprise Globalization Series. They exchanged in-depth insights on the overseas development experience of Chinese consumer enterprises represented by vivo. Below is the curated transcript for your reference.
Globalization is an inevitable move for Chinese smartphone brands.
The mobile phone industry is a mature sector with saturated consumer penetration, prolonged device replacement cycles, and limited technological breakthroughs in the short term. AI has only added incremental peripheral functions without bringing fundamental innovation. As overall industry growth stagnates, leading Chinese smartphone makers must pursue new growth through overseas market expansion.
vivo embarked on globalization at an early stage and has established a presence in most countries and regions worldwide, with only a few markets intentionally excluded or temporarily deferred.
vivo adheres to two core principles for selecting overseas markets: market scale and capability matching, with the latter carrying greater weight. Capability evaluation focuses on overall competitiveness—assessing whether peer Chinese enterprises with comparable strengths have already proven viable success in a target market, enabling vivo to avoid strategic missteps.
For instance, vivo has not entered Australia due to its small market size and geographical remoteness. In Africa, it has cautiously avoided markets dominated by Transsion, such as Nigeria and Kenya in West and East Africa, prioritizing pilot operations in North Africa instead. Given high compliance costs in Europe, vivo has adopted a steady expansion approach starting with Southern European countries including Spain.
Markets such as Brazil and Russia—where Xiaomi has achieved annual sales of tens of millions of units, with proven scalability and aligned capabilities—remain key priorities for vivo’s next phase of global layout.
India (including Bangladesh) and Indonesia currently stand as vivo’s two largest overseas markets. vivo has established fully localized national subsidiaries in both regions, relocating domestic product systems, manufacturing facilities and accessible supply chains from Dongguan to build complete local ecosystems, including localized product development tailored to local demands. This represents genuine holistic localized globalization.
Though not the first brand to enter India, vivo has achieved remarkable growth, holding over 20% market share and ranking first nationwide today. Its success hinges firmly on long-term commitment and extreme localization—to the extent that many local consumers remain unaware vivo is a Chinese brand.
First and foremost, long-term corporate philosophy lays the foundation. Expatriate senior management undergoes rigorous selection, required to embrace permanent local dedication with a long-term development mindset, ensuring consistent local decision-making and sustainable operations. Profits generated locally are reinvested locally rather than repatriated.
vivo upholds the strategic principle of More Local, More Global, embedding in-depth localization across all dimensions:
Secondly, exporting proven Chinese capabilities and corporate culture amplifies competitive advantages.
Again taking India as an example: vivo introduced advanced factory management protocols, modern operational workflows and employee incentive mechanisms. Its Greater Noida manufacturing plant has achieved production efficiency surpassing the headquarters facility in Dongguan for consecutive months. Alongside operational expertise, vivo promotes its inclusive corporate culture. While respecting local traditions, it upholds the "Benfen" philosophy advocating equality and respect, enabling employees from all social backgrounds to rise to senior roles. Cultural incentives complement remuneration to drive strong employee engagement.
Chinese strengths in intelligence, diligence, adaptability and balanced governance facilitate harmonious collaboration with local stakeholders. Deep localization and building shared interests with local partners define the ultimate essence of successful globalization.
Many foreign enterprises have replicated this success in China. When entering the Chinese market in the 1990s amid high uncertainties, industry leaders such as Tesla and L’Oréal thrived by adopting three core strategies: comprehensive localization of products, branding and management; creating tangible local value including both economic benefits and knowledge transfer of advanced international management systems; and maintaining long-term investment and patient collaboration with local governments and partners. These proven benchmarks offer valuable references for Chinese enterprises expanding globally today.
vivo’s philosophy of Benfen encompasses three core principles:
The logic forms a complete framework: First-principles analysis requires continuous cultivation, enhanced through consistent internal reviews. In reflection, teams resist external attribution and prioritize internal accountability—without this, profound improvement is impossible. Accumulated insights from past failures sharpen the ability to identify fundamental opportunities and boost success certainty. Internally, vivo emphasizes "validated trials" over blind trial-and-error: every initiative undergoes thorough pre-validation to maximize successful delivery. It also avoids vague "ecosystem layout" strategies, which often lead to resource waste and higher failure risks due to unclear strategic direction.
Embedded throughout vivo’s globalization journey, the Benfen culture guides prudent market selection: prioritizing markets validated by peer enterprises with comparable capabilities, then deploying robust resources to achieve latecomer advantages with controlled risks. It also shapes stakeholder relations: when engaging with local governments, vivo focuses on fulfilling corporate responsibilities through investment, job creation and tax contributions rather than relying on informal connections. When entering new markets, it prioritizes profitability for local distributors first, fostering long-term shared interests and loyal partnerships. This cultural foundation cultivates a supportive soft environment for global expansion.
Proven global success for consumer enterprises hinges on two universal pillars:First, inherent scalable operational advantages rooted in China’s robust supply chain ecosystem. Companies nurtured within China’s fiercely competitive domestic market gain significant edge when entering less saturated overseas markets—a classic "dimension-reduction advantage". Enterprises in consumer electronics such as DJI and Roborock leverage China’s supply chain strengths for smoother global expansion; enterprises with multiple layered competitive advantages achieve even higher success rates.
Second, uncompromising in-depth localization. Traditional FMCG sectors including beauty and beverages rely heavily on localized production, distribution and branding for overseas growth. Senda Group exemplifies this success: establishing local manufacturing facilities in Africa to deliver cost-effective products, building localized brand portfolios and focusing on grassroots markets to become the leading supplier of diapers and major provider of daily chemical and hardware products across the continent. In contrast, Genki Forest achieved limited results in Southeast Asia by relying solely on import agency models without local production.
Looking ahead, globalization will become increasingly accessible for Chinese enterprises. The large-scale expansion of Chinese supply chains and brands has elevated overall influence in overseas markets. Southeast Asia, a primary destination for Chinese investment, now maintains deep economic interdependence with China through local manufacturing, investment and job creation, lowering market entry barriers for subsequent enterprises. As Latin America and Europe emerge as the next wave of key destinations, Chinese industrial influence will continue to grow, further simplifying global expansion. We anticipate more Chinese enterprises achieving sustainable overseas growth through dedicated local engagement in the near future.
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