Chinese firms looking abroad are navigating a more complex environment, as global macroeconomic instability and localized business risks combine to create a tough environment for expansion, according to a new report by Dun & Bradstreet Holdings Inc.
Released on Sept. 22, the report warns that Chinese companies venturing overseas are grappling with significant uncertainty. On one hand, volatile tariff structures and shifting investment policies are complicating strategic planning. On the other, firms are confronting granular risks such as opaque partner finances and erratic payment practices that are threatening cash flow and solvency.
These challenges arise just as a consensus strengthens in China: companies must “go global or go bust.” Dun & Bradstreet’s findings act as a wake-up call, offering quantifiable evidence of mounting threats—especially payment defaults and bankruptcies—in some of China’s key export markets. The report urges companies to strengthen risk-management frameworks as they navigate the turbulent waters of international expansion.
The expansion itself has slowed since reaching a peak. While the number of overseas subsidiaries established by Chinese mainland firms jumped to over 10,000 in 2023 — up from 7,653 in 2021 — the pace has cooled in 2024. In the first half of 2025, companies founded 2,292 overseas subsidiaries, equivalent to about 30% of the prior year’s total.
Hong Kong remains the leading destination, accounting for 47.8% of the roughly 36,000 overseas firms established since 2021. By sector, wholesale and retail trade is the most popular, at 34.1%, followed by business services at 21.6%.
Bankruptcies are a rising concern. In 2024, nearly two-thirds of regions with available data reported an increase in corporate insolvencies, with the U.S., Canada, France, Poland, and Sweden hitting their highest levels since 2012. In the Asia-Pacific region, Singapore saw the sharpest increase at 40%.
Delayed payments are another major hurdle. In the Asia-Pacific region, less than 30% of businesses in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates pay on time, indicating severe delays. In Europe and the Americas, Mexico and Belgium also showed low on-time payment rates of 36.4% and 38.1%, respectively.
Despite the risks, China’s exports grew 7.2% year-on-year in the first half of 2025 to 13 trillion yuan ($1.8 trillion). However, trade patterns are shifting, with exports rising to Southeast Asia and Germany but falling to the U.S., Russia, and Brazil. Exports to the U.S., still China’s top market, fell 9.6% to 1.6 trillion yuan amid significant tariff changes.
Exports of products related to the “new three” — electric vehicles, solar cells and lithium batteries — powered double-digit growth in the electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry. Meanwhile, revenue for large apparel and textile firms fell 1.9% and 1.4%, respectively.
Shi Yonghong, vice president of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, noted that while electromechanical exports have shown strong resilience, companies must improve their risk controls as they expand into emerging markets.
