China’s Global Expansion Challenge Is Not About Products, It’s About Brands

When we talk about local strengths, there’s no doubt that China’s manufacturing industry has earned a strong global reputation. However, as companies move into overseas expansion, the focus needs to extend beyond the product itself to something equally critical: brand building and brand awareness.

In 2025, 3Drips delivered and participated in several talks focused on cross‑cultural psychology in relation to overseas expansion. One comment from the audience left a deep impression on us:

“I know nothing about psychology, but I can supply the products, and others can help me sell them. Simple and easy.”

He didn’t even introduce himself or his company, yet spoke with remarkable confidence and trust. While we appreciated his openness, we were also somewhat astonished by the bluntness of the comment.

In reality, things are rarely simple or easy as this gentleman perceived. The lack of strong brand power is precisely why many high-quality Chinese industrial products continue to struggle for visibility and recognition in global markets.

Take sustainability as an example. In other side of the world, it has long been a baseline requirement for cooperation. In China, we also have a similar concept ‘Green mountains are more valuable than gold and silver mountains. (金山银山不如绿水青山)’, which is originally from a government slogan. Yet we have seen companies bring large Chinese banners with such slogans directly to European trade shows. It might make sense to them, but not to their target audience.

Clear waters and green mountains are as valuable as mountains of gold and silver

While this approach is understandable, directly transferring the same mindset into a different market can create unforeseen challenges. Let’s explore another example, there is a deeply rooted commercial mindset in China: always compare products between 3 suppliers（货比三家). In an environment of overcapacity, this inevitably leads to price‑driven competition.

It often narrows down to only two narratives below and they both lead to a bottomless cycle:

• My product is better; others don’t have this quality

• Our products are similar, but mine is cheaper

3Drips’ work across markets reveals a simple truth: In unfamiliar territories, the first step isn’t selling, it’s about building understanding.

Companies need to focus on:

• Identifying whether there is a real gap in the market

• Understanding unmet pain points of potential customers in B2B and/or B2C sectors

Thus, long before any commercial execution, significant time and resources are already invested.This leads us to two critical questions Chinese companies must reflect on:

1. Are we going global because competition at home has become unbearable, or because there is a genuinely unmet need elsewhere that truly matches our capabilities?

2. If we have not established brand power in our domestic market, why do we wait until going overseas to confront the same weakness, instead of upgrading branding at home first?

This article is not a guide on how to build a brand, but it serves as an important reminder - branding is far from simple. Its many layers and steps require careful thought and strategy. What a company sees as valuable may not always align with what customers truly want or need. At its essence, a brand bridges this gap. It is, in many ways, an art piece. One that communicates on your behalf, even when the founder is not in the room.