Craftsmanship Goes Global: How Can Domestic Brands Lead the Way in the Global Market? | A Complete Preview of the Highlights of the 2025 "Craftsmanship for the World" Overseas Expansion Conference
In 2025, the "Age of Great Navigation" for domestic brands has arrived.
Forty years ago, China opened the door to globalization by trading shirts for airplanes. Forty years later, Chinese enterprises are launching a "New Navigation Movement" with cutting - edge technology, meticulous craftsmanship, and Eastern aesthetics. This time, Chinese enterprises not only sell products but also set rules, build ecosystems, and export cultural influence.
The brand's overseas expansion has entered deep waters. How can we anchor the "certainty" in the face of uncertainty? How can we truly "integrate" after "going global"? These are becoming the keys to the creative transformation and innovative development of overseas expansion.
On July 25th, guided by the Department of Commerce of Zhejiang Province, the Secretariat of the China Cooperation Center for Special Economic Zones of BRICS Countries, the Hangzhou Bureau of Commerce, and the Qiantang District Bureau of Commerce, the 2025 "From 'Meticulous Craftsmanship' to the 'World'" Overseas Expansion Conference, jointly hosted by 36Kr and Qiantang Construction Investment Group, will be held at the Grand Mercure Hangzhou Qiantang. As a brand - new IP event of 36Kr focusing on globalization and overseas expansion, the conference will have a main venue and a sub - venue, the "Investing in BRICS" - Country Cooperation Matching Meeting. The main venue of the conference will be divided into two chapters: "Finding Certainty in Uncertainty" and "Doing Business Globally", focusing on popular overseas expansion fields such as consumption, technology, e - commerce, finance, healthcare, and new energy. It will bring together resources from the entire industrial chain, including local governments, platform providers, overseas chambers of commerce, brand owners, service providers, and compliance experts, to achieve cross - industry, cross - regional, and cross - cultural exchanges and promote in - depth docking of overseas expansion resources.
From "Making the Cake" to "Making the Cake Bigger", Which Brand Will Be the First to Become a "McDonald's - Level" Giant in Overseas Expansion?
The wave of overseas expansion is surging. It is no longer just a simple expansion in "quantity" but a leap in "quality". This leap is a concentrated manifestation of the "meticulous craftsmanship" of Chinese enterprises.
As Chinese brands shift from "product export" to "value export", how can they reconstruct global competitiveness with IP, traffic, and culture? The answer lies in those players who are not satisfied with simply selling goods but are deeply involved in building ecosystems and creating global brands.
The exploration of Ma Liuji is quite representative. As a representative of Chinese cuisine going global, it has stepped out of the traditional "taste competition" track. With Sichuan cuisine culture at its core, combined with IP traffic and social marketing, it tries to break the stereotype of overseas consumers about Chinese cuisine being "greasy and spicy". At the conference, Wang Xiaofei, the founder of the Ma Liuji brand, will share the "global story of Chinese - style trendy Sichuan cuisine" and show how Ma Liuji makes Sichuan cuisine a cultural symbol pursued by overseas young people.
Yuanqi Forest is going global with its category innovation of "sugar - free sparkling water". After defining the "sugar - free" track in China, facing competition from international giants and differences in overseas health concepts (for example, the sensitivity to "low - sugar" in the European and American markets is completely different from that in China), Wang Pu, the co - founder of Yuanqi Forest, will share at the conference how Yuanqi Forest turns the "0 - sugar" concept from a trendy idea into a daily necessity for global consumers.
Against the backdrop of global competition in the energy industry, how can Chinese enterprises upgrade from the trading mindset of "going global" to the industrial mindset of "creating globally"? Huang Haiyan, the Executive Vice - President and Chief Sustainability Officer of Chint Group's New Energy Division, will share how to build an internationally influential energy brand in the complex and diverse cultural and market environments overseas on the new journey of energy overseas expansion, and how to make "Made in China" energy products shine in the global market.
With the fluctuations in the global supply chain, how can Chinese brands shift from "export dependence" to "global layout" and break the dilemma of a single market? At the round - table forum "How Can the Technological Changes Provide 'Certainty' for Global Layout?", guests such as Zhang Fei, the General Manager of the New Business Development Department of LinkedIn's China Talent Solutions, Xiao Qijing, the Party Secretary and Overseas Executive Director of Holley Group, Bu Rui, a partner at Fangda Partners' Beijing/Hong Kong office, and Winston Mao, a representative of Amazon Global Selling's key customer team, will have in - depth discussions on relevant issues. How can Chinese enterprises build a localized talent team suitable for overseas markets when "going global"? How can enterprises actively integrate into overseas multinational operations with "global supply chain services" as the hub? How can enterprises accurately grasp the compliance boundaries and achieve steady expansion in overseas markets? How can enterprises quickly integrate into the global market through emerging channels such as cross - border e - commerce? These issues are all related to the long - term development of Chinese brands in the global market.
From "Large - Scale Models" to "Small - Scale Scenarios", How Can AI + Cultural Overseas Expansion Win Globally?
As AI technology moves from the laboratory to daily life and cultural export changes from "hard - selling" to "soft - penetration", Chinese enterprises are conquering the world with the dual - wheel drive of "technology + culture". The core of this drive is the practical pursuit of technology implementation and the respect and understanding of cultural differences, which is a vivid practice of "meticulous craftsmanship" in the fields of technology and culture.
As a representative in the technology field, SenseTime has been deeply involved in the Middle East with visual AI, from its ToB and ToG businesses to the MaaS platform. At the conference, Li Xingye, the Executive Director of the General Business Department of SenseTime's large - scale models, will give a keynote speech titled "AI Large - Scale Models Empowering the Last Mile of Enterprises' Overseas Expansion", discussing how AI large - scale models can be applied to daily scenarios such as traffic management and smart cities overseas to solve practical problems and win the international market through "scenario - based innovation".
Against the backdrop of fierce global technological competition and rapid technological iterations, how can Chinese enterprises shape their core competitiveness with innovative technologies on the international stage and achieve a leap from technology following to technology leading? At the round - table forum "Beyond the Boundaries, Within the World: The AI Process of Enterprises' Overseas Expansion", guests such as Jing Xun, the host of a business column, Cao Fangning, the founding partner of Multi - Dimension Capital, Guo Weike, the founder of PETKIT, and Zeng Yiqian, the President of the Intelligent Consumption Division of Yizhi, will have in - depth discussions.
The consumer electronics industry is at a critical juncture of global transformation. After years of development, Chinese consumer electronics enterprises are moving from "Made in China" to "Global Brands", but still face many challenges. At the round - table forum "From 'Made in China' to 'Global Brands': The Breakthrough Path for Consumer Electronics Overseas Expansion", guests such as Bonnie, the Investment Director of 36Kr's Strategy Department, Zhao Hui, the Vice - President of SGS China, Han Zongbo, the Marketing Director of Creality 3D, Wan Qian, the General Manager of Lexar's Overseas E - commerce, and Tracy Wang, the Global Brand Manager of Jackery, will discuss relevant issues such as how to create core products with differentiated competitive advantages, how to break through the technological bottlenecks of consumer electronics, and how to achieve a magnificent transformation from "Made in China" to "Global Brands".
As the global influence of Chinese culture continues to grow, how to achieve cultural integration and local operation in the overseas expansion of Chinese products has become the key for Chinese products to "go viral globally". At the round - table forum "Cultural Overseas Expansion: How Can Chinese Products Go Viral Globally?", guests such as Guo Fu, a senior editor of 36Kr's game section, Xing Ruiqi, the Commercialization President of Quwan Technology, Lin Qiwen, the Vice - President of DataEye, and Wu Siyong, the General Manager of the Value - Added Business Department of DHgate, will have in - depth discussions on issues related to "cultural overseas expansion", "local cultural resonance", and "product design".
These discussions may reveal a deeper trend: the globalization wave driven by cutting - edge technology and cultural confidence is rewriting the value connotation of "Made in China". From product export to standard export, from cultural dissemination to value sharing, Chinese enterprises are providing the world with a "Chinese Solution" that combines technological advancement and cultural inclusiveness.
How Can Overseas Expansion Be Steady with Infrastructure, Policies, and Compliance?
If brands and technology are the "bow" of overseas expansion, then infrastructure, policies, and compliance are like the "keel" of the hull. Only by firmly laying the foundation with "meticulous craftsmanship" can we withstand the storms.
With the normalization of trade frictions, what profound changes are taking place in the global trade pattern? Huang Sheng, a professor of finance at CEIBS, will share the analysis of the trade war and the strategies for Chinese enterprises to break the deadlock. When tariff barriers and technological restrictions are intertwined, which industries can seize the transformation opportunities in the trade reconstruction?
What exactly is the charm of the Middle East market? Zhuo Jiameng, the Shanghai representative of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, will give a speech titled "The City of Opportunities, the Window to the World - Dubai, UAE", analyzing what policy and market access thresholds Chinese enterprises need to cross to take root in Dubai and what surrounding opportunities they can access through its radiation.
Zhu Ran, the Vice - President of Fenbeitong, will focus on the core pain points of cross - border payment. Facing challenges such as compliance, exchange rate fluctuations, and integration of local channels, he will share how to build a "safe, efficient, and low - cost" payment infrastructure for enterprises.
Against the backdrop of tariff fluctuations and the rise of trade protectionism, small and medium - sized enterprises need more precise support for overseas expansion. Yang Qingqing, the COO of DHgate, will analyze its differentiated competitiveness to help small and medium - sized enterprises solidly open up overseas markets and find a certain growth path in the face of uncertainty.
Zhang Yajun, a senior partner of Jiaoge Pengyou, will share the global practice of live - streaming e - commerce. From Douyin to TikTok, how can the mature live - streaming ecosystem in China be replicated overseas? How can cultural differences and logistics bottlenecks be overcome to reconstruct the growth logic of overseas e - commerce with "content + social media"?
Zhang Wei, the Deputy Secretary - General of the Center for China and Globalization (CCG), will start from a macro perspective and, combined with the think - tank's in - depth research on the global market, share the opportunities and challenges for Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion. How can we identify the neglected regional "blue oceans"?
Compliance is the "lifeline" of overseas expansion. Yang Xiong, a manager of PwC China's Risk and Regulatory Services, will focus on core areas such as data compliance, labor law differences, anti - monopoly investigations, and intellectual property protection and share how to build a "one - stop" solution for enterprises.
Celia, the cross - border business leader of TrustDecision, will focus on the art of balancing growth in the data age. Under the core proposition of "Safe and Compliant Overseas Expansion, Accelerating Business Growth", how can enterprises ensure that "safety" and "growth" go hand in hand in cross - border data flow?
The in - depth discussions from platform providers, overseas chambers of commerce, service providers, and compliance experts will together form the code for enterprises' "steady" overseas expansion: policy guidance, infrastructure paving, risk control and compliance escort, so that Chinese enterprises can sail steadily in the globalization wave.
In order to discover those leaders who lead the industry with excellent practices in globalization, this conference will also focus on three core dimensions: "Pioneering Figures", "Innovative Figures", and "Innovative Enterprises", and will grandly release the East Forward 2025 Overseas Globalization Innovation List, setting industry benchmarks that can be learned from and referenced for the globalization journey of Chinese brands.
In addition, the sub - forum of the conference, the "Investing in BRICS" - Country Cooperation Matching Meeting, will specifically focus on the UAE market. Representatives from UAE regions such as Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Ras Al Khaimah will be invited to participate. They will conduct in - depth interpretations of investment opportunities in each economic zone on - site and answer questions for enterprises willing to expand overseas. In addition, the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) and DP World will also introduce the advantages of the parks and the preferential policies that Chinese enterprises can enjoy in the registration, establishment, and operation processes. In the round - table discussion session, ZanMei Automobile, a representative enterprise that has successfully expanded to the UAE, will share practical experience on the topic of "Successful Experience in Expanding to the UAE" together with professional service institutions such as PwC, Huizhi Group, Middle East Bridge, and IntelliPro Group (IPG).
When Chinese brands no longer just "go global" but "build cities and create ecosystems", a new wave of globalization will be launched, subverting the traditional approach. Let's look forward to this globalization transformation driven by Chinese brands and continuously follow the in - depth discussions and resource connections brought by the 2025 "From 'Meticulous Craftsmanship' to the 'World'" Overseas Expansion Conference.
- Thanks to our partners "Ma Liuji", "Rangcha", "TORRAS", "STARAY", and "Xingyun Group" for their sponsorship and support.