The global restructuring of Chinese brands

Editor's note: Wang Xiaoyi is a professor at Zhejiang University School of Management, deputy director of Zhejiang Research Center for Digital Development and Governance, and executive council member of the China Marketing Association of Universities. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. It has been translated from Chinese and edited for brevity and clarity.

China Brand Day on May 10 is not only a national narrative but also an important window to observe the global economy. The 2024 Hurun China Brand List has revealed more than just impressive numerical growth. As it is shown, Douyin has surpassed traditional giants to rank second, Pinduoduo has entered the top five for the first time, and BYD and Huawei are rewriting the rules of competition through scale and industry growth. It also demonstrates a silent revolution: China is transitioning from the "world's factory" to the "global hub of innovation." The evolutionary path of Chinese brands offers a brand-new paradigm for latecomer economies.

The breakthrough of Chinese brands is essentially a movement advocating technological equity

The BYD blade battery has forced the EU to fast-track revisions of electric vehicle safety standards. HarmonyOS's overseas installations account for 27 percent of its total installations, replacing Google's ecosystem in Latin American markets. This "reverse innovation" strategy challenges the traditional theory of technology diffusion: For the first time, developing countries are using their own technology standards to vie for global rule-making power.

The consumption language of younger generations is rewriting value norms

SHEIN has compressed its design-to-delivery cycle to just 7 days (compared to Zara's 21 days). Pop Mart's blind boxes are generating over a million dollars in monthly sales at the MoMA Store in New York. Perfect Diary's "Animal Eyeshadow Palette” has sparked a TikTok challenge, turning the color palette inspired by the Classic of Mountains and Seas into an accessible aesthetic symbol. Chinese brands have proven that cultural export is no longer a one-way display of "Eastern spectacle" but an ability to forge universal connections.

The combination of "democratized technology and cultural accessibility" has enabled Chinese brands to become value resonators for "digital natives"

China's robot dogs are rapidly entering global markets, with their open-source ecosystems attracting developers worldwide. Chinese brands have exhibited several distinctive features in this round of globalization. Firstly, they are ecosystem-driven. Transsion's "smartphone + mobile payment + content platform”ecosystem built in Africa has multiplied ARPU (average revenue per user) compared to standalone hardware sales. Secondly, governance is also becoming branded. SenseTime has exported China's AI city governance solutions to Southeast Asian countries, where its traffic optimization systems have improved commuting efficiency in Jakarta.

The influence of Chinese brands is largely the result of the reverse supply chain revolution China has been promoting over the past decade

Pinduoduo's TEMU platform, through distributed warehousing and AI-assisted product selection, has shortened supply chain response time to achieve "72-hour global delivery." According to the McKinsey Global Institute, for every dollar of overseas revenue generated by Chinese digital platforms, an additional 70 cents is added to the value of local supply chain enterprises. This "ecosystem spillover effect" is being replicated in cities such as Monterrey in Mexico, and Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, creating a multi-center innovation network.

This is not just a victory for enterprises but also signals a restructuring of global commercial civilization. As developing countries begin to gain brand influence in core technology sectors such as consumer electronics, new energy, and AI, the narrative logic of globalization is shifting from a "center-periphery" model to a "multipolar innovation community."

(Cover via CFP)