Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said in this year's government work report that China will continue to implement the "go global" strategy to increase policy support, streamline approval procedures and improve services for Chinese investors. On this matter, both management authorities of state-owned and private businesses believe they need to learn lessons before they carry out the "go global" strategy.
Since the "go global" strategy was promoted as China's national economic strategy in 2001, there have been over 18,000 ventures that Chinese enterprises launched overseas, with a 1.2 million strong workforce. Statistics from a report published in the China Youth Daily also show that the total assets owned by these overseas branches surpassed 1.5 trillion US dollars.
The Hefei Cement Research and Design Institute in east China's Anhui Province is a state-owned enterprise that deals with dozens of projects in around various countries. Deputy-director of the institute Chen Zhangshui believes a good understanding of the laws in other nations is of vital importance for Chinese enterprises conducting business abroad.
"Going global requires that state-owned enterprises gain a clear understanding of local laws. As an NPC deputy, I have proposed a bill for the establishment of an international law advisory body in China, which would help us reduce economic losses due to ignorance when signing a contract. Such enterprises can't always afford to pay a big team of lawyers. So, it's necessary for such a body to be set up in a bid to preserve these enterprises." Chen says.
The Shandong Energy Group Corporation Limited is another state-owned enterprise concentrates mainly on the coal business. Vice General Manager of the corporation Kong Qing thinks his enterprise should explore business potential overseas as they have recently found that the supply of coal is on the increase and coal prices are dropping in the domestic market.
He also cautioned that Chinese enterprises should seek common prosperity with local communities, an effective approach to protect Chinese employees from attacks from locals who may mistake Chinese economic success for exploitation of resources.
"It's of great significance that Chinese staff who work overseas should learn how to become a welcome part of the local community, where they will join hands with locals to seek common development of local resources to fatten the wallets of both parties. Any failure to achieve that may trigger dissatisfaction from the local government as well as the local people." Kong says.
So far this year, the Chinese government has made investments to launch 445 ventures abroad, a 6.8% increase compared with the same period last year. To date, China claims only 6% of the world's Foreign Direct Investment, or FDI, an index that reflects a nation's economic vitality. It is this number that China wants to increase with its "go global' strategy for state-owned enterprises as well as private businesses.