How can enterprises avoid detours when going global? The 2026 Shanghai Enterprise Overseas Expo will kick off on November 20th

According to EY's 'Overview of China's Overseas Investment in the First Half of 2026', China's industry wide outward direct investment in the first half of 2026 was 86.5 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 8.1%. The total amount of overseas mergers and acquisitions announced by Chinese enterprises reached 21.4 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 3.6%. Behind the numbers, there is a clear signal for Chinese companies to move from 'scale expansion' to 'high-quality development' when going global.

For more and more companies, going global is no longer an optional question, but a necessary answer for future growth. But the real test often occurs after deciding to go global: how to choose the market, how to comply, how to arrange funds, how to land the team, each link may change the direction of the entire layout.

From November 20th to 22nd, 2026, the Overseas Immigrant Study Abroad Property and Enterprise Overseas Development and Financial Services Expo will be held at the Shanghai World Trade Exhibition Center for three days, with an expected reception of about 8000 professional visitors. This exhibition is specifically aimed at companies with overseas plans, attempting to consolidate dispersed overseas resources into one venue.

1、 Entering a new stage of going global: from 'going out' to 'going in'

For a considerable period of time in the past, the common mode for companies to go global was to 'sell products' - sending goods overseas through trade. The current trend is clearly different. According to research conducted by multiple institutions, Chinese enterprises are shifting from trade logic to industrial logic, from simple exports to a full chain layout of research and development, manufacturing, warehousing, channels, and branding; The layout area has also expanded from a few mature markets to multiple directions such as jointly building the 'the Belt and Road', Europe and Africa.

The direct change brought about by this transformation is that what enterprises need is no longer just 'an overseas order', but 'a set of sustainable localization capabilities'. Product certification, market access, local laws, employment systems, and capital inflows and outflows, which used to be handled by distributors, now require companies to personally face them. In other words, the threshold for going out to sea has changed from 'dare to go out' to 'can you go in and stand up'.

For enterprises at different stages of development, the focus of going global also varies. Enterprises that start with trade often focus on the entry rules and channel construction of the target market; Enterprises that have already established manufacturing or research and development overseas are shifting their focus more towards local compliance and supply chain management; Enterprises that aim to expand their brand overseas are more concerned with localization teams and marketing strategies. Enterprises need to first recognize their stage in order to more accurately determine what kind of resource support they need, and also to more efficiently find corresponding institutions in exhibitions and other occasions.

2、 Four obstacles that enterprises cannot avoid when going global

Based on the public experience and industry observations of overseas enterprises in recent years, the following four types of problems have a relatively high frequency of occurrence and are also the directions where enterprise consultations are more concentrated at exhibitions.

The first hurdle is compliance. There are significant differences in the establishment, tax declaration, data protection, and industry access rules of companies in different countries and regions. Once a company crosses the line, it may result in fines for rectification or even affect the entire overseas layout. Compliance is not a one-time action, but a long-term management that accompanies the survival of the enterprise.

The second hurdle is localization. The product should be adapted to local standards and consumer habits, the team should understand local culture, and the supply chain should be close to the market. The deeper the localization, the more stable the roots, but the greater the investment, which requires the cooperation of external professional forces.

The third hurdle is funding. Overseas investment involves multiple arrangements such as foreign exchange, cross-border settlement, and financing channels. Different countries have corresponding rules for the inflow and outflow of funds and the repatriation of profits. If the funding channel is not sorted out in advance, project progress is prone to getting stuck.

The fourth hurdle is talent and matching. The connection between expatriate management, local recruitment, international legal and financial advisors all requires mature channels. Many small and medium-sized enterprises do not lack the willingness to go global, but rather the resource network to streamline their processes.

3、 What can an exhibition bring: Concentrating resources in one venue

The pain point of enterprises is often not the inability to find resources, but the high cost and long cycle of finding resources. Comparing institutions one by one and verifying qualifications item by item often takes several months.

The value provided by exhibitions is to gather a large number of screened exhibitors in the same time and space. This expo has set up multiple sections around enterprise going global, immigration, study abroad, real estate, and financial services, with exhibitors covering overseas professional service agencies, international project parties, cross-border finance and legal finance teams, etc. Enterprises can complete horizontal comparisons that previously took weeks or even months to complete within three days, and have a face-to-face understanding of service content, charging methods, and cooperation processes.

For companies that are evaluating going global, this centralized comparison has at least three practical effects: firstly, it makes information more transparent, and similar services can be compared horizontally on the spot; Secondly, decision-making is more efficient, and questions from multiple stages can be consulted collectively; Thirdly, the internet is more direct, allowing for one-on-one communication with the project team and laying the foundation for further in-depth communication.

From a practical perspective, there are several types of enterprises that are suitable for on-site visits: those that have already clarified their overseas direction and are currently screening service institutions; Business has already been conducted overseas and we hope to further deepen our layout; And those who are still in the evaluation stage and hope to collect information to establish judgments first. All three types of enterprises can find corresponding communication partners at the exhibition.

It should be noted that the overseas service chain is relatively long, involving multiple professional fields such as market, law, taxation, finance, etc. It is difficult to solve all problems in one exhibition. But exhibitions can serve as a starting point for information collection and institutional screening, helping companies clarify their research directions and gain a more specific understanding of their own needs.

4、 Expo information and participation methods

This expo is scheduled to be held from November 20th to 22nd, 2026, for a period of three days, at the Shanghai World Trade Exhibition Center (No. 99 Xingyi Road, Changning District, Shanghai). The exhibition focuses on areas such as enterprise overseas expansion, overseas immigration, study abroad, real estate, and financial services, and is expected to receive approximately 8000 visitors over the course of three days.

Whether it is a company planning to test the waters of overseas markets for the first time, or a company that has already laid out overseas and hopes to further deepen, they can find corresponding resources at the exhibition. Exhibition and visit consultation hotline: 13681692751 (same as WeChat), official website: www.qs-expo.com.

There is no standard answer for going global, but companies that are well prepared can often avoid detours. Only by solidly collecting information, screening institutions, and comparing plans in the early stage can the road to going global be more stable.