Hong Kong: The Premier “Go Global” Service Platform

Wing Chu, Cherry Yeung, Eric Chu

Hong Kong has long been the key conduit facilitating economic co‑operation between the Chinese Mainland and the international community. This was confirmed by a 2026 HKTDC survey[1], which showed that Hong Kong remains the preferred service support platform for the majority of Chinese Mainland‑based businesses looking to “go global”.

Indeed, as businesses across the Chinese Mainland continue to prioritise their global expansion plans, Hong Kong’s role in supporting such initiatives has become increasingly prominent. This has seen the city widely acknowledged as the premier service platform for any Chinese Mainland enterprise truly committed to the strategic objectives of the “go global” policy.

The role played by Hong Kong is set to become yet more essential following the promulgation of China’s 15th Five-Year Plan (15th FYP). Formally adopted in March this year, the Plan has a firm emphasis on opening up and international co‑operation as key means of ensuring mutually beneficial outcomes for the Chinese Mainland and its overseas trading partners.

Essentially, the key objectives are to prioritise the high‑quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), while expanding international circulation, as a means of delivering upgrades and growth across the Mainland. The Plan also outlines moves to more effectively integrate Hong Kong into the country’s overall development programme, while ensuring its in‑depth, high‑quality participation in the BRI [2].

In another key development, in October 2025, the HKSAR Government established a GoGlobal Task Force in order to provide more comprehensive support for any Mainland enterprises looking to “go global”. It is anticipated that this will also provide fresh impetus for the Hong Kong economy, consolidating and enhancing the city’s status as an international business and trading hub [3].

Among the key findings of the 2026 HKTDC survey were the following:

• 95% of participating Chinese Mainland enterprises plan to expand their overseas business in the next two years, a sign of the widespread commitment to the objectives of the “go global” initiative.

• 94% of respondents saw BRI-related territories as target destinations for their “going global” aspirations. Within this, 91% were focused on ASEAN economies when it comes to expanding their sales, bolstering their regional supply chains and collaborating on scientific research/development.

• To help navigate the various challenges of “going global”, 83% of the enterprises surveyed indicated a preference for leveraging Hong Kong’s professional services. This is a significant increase on the 62% expressing the same sentiment in a similar survey conducted in 2023 [4]. In terms of the specific services sought from Hong Kong by expansion-minded Chinese Mainland enterprises, marketing, e-commerce, professional services, scientific research support, and product standardisation, ESG consultancy, financial services and risk management were all widely referenced.

Overall, it was concluded that the survey findings confirm that Hong Kong continues to be the platform of choice for any Mainland enterprise serious about “going global”.

Mainland enterprises actively “going global”

In total, 95% of the surveyed enterprises indicated they had plans in place to further expand their overseas business within the next two years. This represents a sizable increase on the 90% expressing the same sentiment in the 2023 survey, and can be taken as confirmation of an increased commitment to “going global” on the part of Chinese Mainland enterprises.

In light of the increasing volatility of the international market, many Chinese Mainland‑based businesses have been swift to adjust their development strategies accordingly. This has seen them become increasingly adept at utilising their overseas business interests to both diversify their risk exposure and capture new growth opportunities.

As to the preferred overseas markets, some 94% of businesses “going global” indicated they would be prioritising countries and regions along the routes of the BRI. Of these, 91% indicated that they would further expand into the ASEAN markets. Overall, both corresponding figures were significantly higher than the 73% and 58% reported in the 2023 survey.

Furthermore, despite rising geopolitical tensions and increased protectionism in certain parts of the world, on average, Chinese Mainland enterprises have either maintained their commitment to expanding overseas or become more committed to the prospect. Many are also considering expanding into the more mature markets of Europe or America, a clear indication that “go global” strategies are now becoming both more diverse and more long‑term.

Business diversification and distinct challenges

The survey also indicated that manufacturers and service suppliers have quite distinct objectives when it comes to their “going global” strategies. While manufacturers are primarily focused on sales, product procurement and establishing production facilities, service suppliers are more intent on supporting their international operations, scientific and technological R&D / collaboration, and procuring services from overseas markets.

In terms of their international business development initiatives, the survey also made it clear that manufacturers and service suppliers have to contend with quite different challenges. In the case of manufacturers, they saw the biggest obstacles as unfamiliarity with overseas supply chains, funding restrictions and a lack of supply‑chain management expertise.

By contrast, service suppliers indicated their major concerns were high levels of overseas competition, market uncertainties and a lack of understanding of local laws and regulatory requirements.

Hong Kong as a “go global” service platform for Mainland enterprises

Regardless of the specific support needs, however, the majority of the surveyed businesses acknowledged that Hong Kong was their preferred “going global” service‑sourcing platform.

In total, some 83% of the surveyed enterprises singled out Hong Kong as their preferred locale for sourcing “going‑global” related support services, an increase of more than 20 percentage points on the 62% recorded in the 2023 survey. This indicates that Hong Kong has continued to consolidate its standing as an unrivalled platform for supporting the global expansion of Chinese Mainland enterprises.

It is also notable that Chinese Mainland‑based businesses look to Hong Kong for a wide range of service support requirements. These demands mainly relate to marketing/e‑commerce‑related services, professional services (such as compliance and accounting), scientific research, financing/risk management and supply chain management.

Note: A fully detailed analysis of the survey will be published by the HKTDC at a later date.

[1] In early 2026, the HKTDC conducted a questionnaire survey in Chinese Mainland. The regions covered by this survey include the Pearl River Delta (PRD), the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), the Bohai Rim, as well as certain central and western regions. A total of 2,015 Mainland enterprises were successfully surveyed.

[2] For details of the 15th FYP, please refer to Capturing the 15th Five-Year Plan Opportunities.

[3] For details, please refer to “GoGlobal Task Force Officially Launched”.

[4] For details of the 2023 survey, please refer to “Hong Kong: The Premier Platform for Mainland Companies to Expand into the BRI and RCEP Markets”.