Doing Business In China

Formerly a developing country with cheap labour cost, China has become the world’s second largest economy, with a GDP of $18 trillion.

Since the opening of the country in 1978, China quickly became an important destination for foreign investors. With a population of 1.4 billion inhabitants and an area of 9.6 million km², China developed a vast and dense ecosystem of clusters for all industries as the “world’s factory”.

Now, the Chinese economy is investing heavily in R&D and locally designed products to move from the “Made in China” to “Created in China”. Among the most dynamic sectors, we can find the healthcare, automotive, IT & telecommunication, and cleantech sectors.

As the third largest country in the world, China has developed a vast and modern infrastructure network with airports, seaports, highspeed train, and highway connecting all provinces. Nevertheless, the country is still not homogenously developed and will not always present similar opportunities to foreign companies and their products.

Overall, foreign companies with limited experience with China will privilege super first-tier cities (Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen) to start their exploration of the market, while companies with more investments and presence in the country will target lower-tier cities that recently registered accelerated development (Chengdu, Qingdao, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Tianjin, Chongqing, etc.).