Chinese SMEs in Prato, Italy

China’s ongoing ambition of global leadership includes its growing investments outside China. Although China has the reputation for being the world’s factory, manufacturing up to 70 percent of electronics, toys, textiles, clothing, and footwear (Lardy, 2002; Gu, 2006; Harney, 2008), a growing number of Chinese have set up businesses outside the country, most recently in Europe. Today, China not only runs the world’s workshop but operates workshops around the world, a phenomenon resulting from increased Chinese outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), which has doubled to US$52 billion between 2007 and 2008 (Roberts & Balfour, 2009, p. 42). Key players in China’s global push are Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs). Their goal is to open new markets, access natural resources, and buy Western brands overseas.