The world is young domestic firms' oyster

Agreed Wang Wei, general manager of AppsFlyer Greater China, an Israeli mobile marketing analytics company. "Chinese companies' footprints are all over the world. There is no place where Chinese firms do not venture."

The outcome of such spirited forays into global markets is that Chinese brands are becoming well-known, the preferred choices for many consumers worldwide. BrandZ China Top 50 Global Brands report, co-released by Kantar, a market research firm, and Google in 2023, underscored this trend by analyzing perceptions and evaluations of Chinese brands across 11 countries.

The report surveyed consumers' opinions on Chinese brands. It disclosed that at least 70 percent of interviewees were willing to consider more than 90 percent of the total 234 Chinese brands involved in the research.

Notably, the most significant indicator for domestic brands — being considered "top-of-the-mind" among consumers — grew 7 percent year-on-year. Chinese brands now significantly influence buying choices abroad.

At the peak of Kantar's list is Bytedance's TikTok, followed by Xiaomi, Lenovo, Shein, Aliexpress, Huawei, Oppo, Haier, Hisense and Vivo. Chinese drone brand DJI ranked 16th and BYD, which makes electric cars, ranked 22nd.

Technology and innovation have served as growth engines, powering Chinese brands going global, said Doreen Wang, CEO of Kantar Greater China and global chair of Kantar BrandZ, adding that Chinese brands have made technology and innovation central to brand-building, improved brand competitiveness and enhanced consumer experience.

Focusing solely on price will weaken a brand's competitiveness and waste the opportunity to attract new consumers. Chinese brands expanding overseas should transition from a "cheap substitute" to a brand that enhances consumers' quality of life, Wang said.

Many Chinese companies are already doing that. They have been expanding their presence in the high-end market, which used to be seen as the top challenge for their overseas expansion, but is now well within their grasp. This is particularly true of Chinese labels operating in certain niches, thanks to growing R&D prowess, company executives and experts said.

For instance, in the robotic vacuum cleaner segment, Roborock has notched up a solid sales performance in the United States, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. According to data from International Data Corp, a market research firm, Roborock leads the market in sales volume in Northern Europe and holds the top market share in Germany where consumers prefer high-quality products. Meanwhile, the company's products have outcompeted those of US-based iRobot, which invented robotic vacuum cleaners in the early 2000s.

"Technological innovation is the cornerstone of Roborock. From the very beginning, we have hired outstanding talent from around the world, and we have made breakthroughs in sectors such as radar laser technology and indoor navigation technology," Quan said.

Roborock, he said, has invested over 1.9 billion yuan in R&D and established three major research facilities dedicated to AI, electromechanical engineering and optoelectronics.

Even in product categories that boast bigger market size, like smartphones and electric vehicles, Chinese companies are doubling down on R&D.