The Era of Chinese Multinationals

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Chinese multinational companies move beyond price competition

Abstract

Chinese companies, often considered low-cost competitors relative to the Western counterparts, have focused on efficiency and mass production rather than quality. However, both the price and quality differentials are shrinking. This chapter analyzes the progress of Chinese firms in global branding and product differentiation, which we illustrate with quantitative analysis and examples. For instance, in 2009, Chinese brands accounted for only 9% of the top 500 firms in the global brand ranking published by Brandirectory. By 2018, this ratio grew to 15.4%.

Keywords

Brand; Multinationals; Lenovo; Huawei; Haier

A lot of people, including business leaders, think the future ...