Chinese Multinationals’ Internationalization Strategies: New Realities, New Pathways

Abstract

This article discusses how Chinese multinational enterprises internationalize in an era of increasingly fractured globalization. It introduces new perspectives that identify and describe four strategic pathways these multinationals employ while acquiring strategic assets and building and leveraging capabilities to increase value from their international presence. The pathways—bouncing up, down, sideways, and back—depend on the multinationals’ strategies and the evolution of their internationalization. The pathways are distinct yet intertwined and influenced by powerful non-market forces, including geopolitical tensions (U.S.-China rivalry in particular) and Chinese domestic regulatory intervention. These dynamics manifest themselves in globalization, de-globalization, and re-globalization shifts.