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Opinion | Despite US-China decoupling talk, Chinese businesses are flourishing in America

  • There is a growing number of Chinese companies and Chinese-run businesses in the US, particularly smaller ones that operate under the radar
  • Despite the immense challenges, Chinese companies have adapted and found the space to operate in the US

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One of the oldest Chinese emporiums in the US, the Pearl River Mart was founded as “friendship store” in 1971, months before Richard Nixon’s China visit. The main store has moved five times and is now in SoHo, a few blocks from Chinatown. Photo: Pearl River Mart / Think!Chinatown
A lot is made of the US-China trade war – some are even calling it a new cold war. Yet Chinese businesses are reshaping the world like never before. Middle Eastern schools are requiring their students to learn Chinese. Singapore is calling on the United States to be more pragmatic with China. And Europeans are loving Chinese new energy technology.
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Despite the staggering number of Chinese companies operating around the world in nearly every imaginable industry, there is still the perception that geopolitical tensions and protectionist policies have made it nearly impossible for Chinese companies to do business in the United States.

While it’s true that China’s outbound capital restrictions and America’s targeted trade restrictions on Chinese companies make it increasingly complicated for them to do business in the US, my observations across a variety of industries is that there are actually more Chinese companies and Chinese-run businesses – of all shapes and sizes – operating in the US than before.
I spend my time travelling between the two countries and have been working with Chinese companies expanding in North America for over a decade, including supporting public relations efforts for Huawei Technologies in the early days of the Meng Wanzhou saga. While there absolutely are challenges – just ask Huawei, Inspur or TikTok – Chinese companies also have distinct advantages that are seeing them succeed in the US and other markets like never before.
The speed of innovation, especially in cities like Shenzhen, is faster than almost anywhere else in the world. And the sheer number of companies here developing products and services for every imaginable scenario and market means that to survive, they must have the best products, prices and service.
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Most industrial and technological sectors as well as consumer product industries have significant numbers of Chinese companies active globally. Go to any industry trade fair in the US and you’ll quickly see that Chinese companies are getting close to having a majority presence.

The new Lenovo dual-screen Yoga Book 9i laptop on display at the Microsoft Inc booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6. Photo: AFP
The new Lenovo dual-screen Yoga Book 9i laptop on display at the Microsoft Inc booth at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada on January 6. Photo: AFP
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