Innovation, B&R fuel global expansion of Chinese brands

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Driven by innovation and the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese brands, especially electronics and e-commerce, have won growing recognition in the global marketplace, according to the latest brands report released on Tuesday by Google and Kantar Millward Brown’s BrandZ.

Taking an in-depth look at the Chinese brands that are making an impact in international markets, the Top 50 Chinese Global Brand Builders 2018 Report ranks Chinese brands in terms of their overseas influence.

The consumer electronics category consists of by far the most well-known brands, such as Lenovo, Huawei, Xiaomi and Anker.

Meanwhile, gaming has been a fast rising category with two brands ranked in the top 10 this year.

Collectively, consumer electronics, mobile gaming, and e-commerce (including online fast fashion) account for 61 percent of the top 50 most influential Chinese brands, the report said.

“Gaming generally is underrated in terms of its influence,” Scott Beaumont, President of Google Greater China and Korea, told CGTN on Tuesday, noting the so-called niche market actually is many times larger than both movie and music industries combined.

In China, there is a huge pool of talented developers and companies who have created phenomenal games, adding that future global gaming companies would emerge from Asia, said Beaumont.

In addition to innovation in products and service, China’s Belt and Road Initiative plays a key role in enterprises’ overseas development.

Banks, airlines and China’s heavy manufacturing industry are putting full weight behind the campaign, the report said.

Chinese companies are encouraged by the initiative to broaden their horizons, and many of them started exploring new markets such as Brazil and Mexico, instead of merely eyeing Europe and the US, said Beaumont.

Meanwhile, the global expansion of Chinese brands has also benefited from open-minded young consumers.

“Younger consumers are turning to brands such as Lenovo, Alibaba and JD.com because they are united by their love of cool, affordable products and services,” said Doreen Wang, Global Head of BrandZ.

Chinese companies are taking a more active role on the world stage and they are helping to support economic growth in developing markets in many ways, David Roth, Chairman of global consultancy BAV Group, was quoted in a press release.

The rankings are based on scores made by an algorithm applied to 168 Chinese brands across 12 product categories based on data from Google and BrandZ.