Chinese companies need to play a good image card to go out
Our reporter Zhou Lei
Chinese enterprises going overseas are not only market players for foreign economic cooperation and openness and win-win, but also a vivid carrier of Chinese culture.
Recently, under the guidance of the Central Propaganda Department, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, and the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, the 2021·Chinese Enterprise Global Image Summit Forum hosted by the China Foreign Language Bureau was held in Beijing.
With the theme of "promoting sustainable development and building a better world", this forum released the "Global Survey Report on Chinese Corporate Image 2021", showing the global public's overall evaluation of the overseas image of Chinese companies.
Zhang Jianchun, Vice Minister of the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, pointed out that the majority of enterprises should better serve the overall situation of development, demonstrate economic vitality, promote people’s well-being, demonstrate responsibility, adhere to value guidance, shape corporate culture, focus on effective dissemination, tell Chinese stories, and further establish Chinese enterprises. A global image, showing a credible, lovable, and respectable image of China, expanding the influence and appeal of Chinese culture, and making greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind with practical actions.
Corporate image is well recognized
The "Global Survey Report on Chinese Corporate Image 2021" completed by the International Communication Development Center of the China Foreign Languages Bureau, the Institute of Contemporary China and the World, and Kantar Group, covering China, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, India, Indonesia, and Kenya 12 countries, including South Africa, Russia, Italy, the United States, and Brazil, pay attention to the views of different age groups on China’s economic development and Chinese companies.
From the perspective of the comprehensive evaluation of corporate image, respondents from 12 countries have overall recognition of the performance of Chinese companies in the four dimensions of responsibility, fairness, credibility and success more than 75%.
The survey shows that the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” has a high degree of attention and influence.
The positive impact of the international development of Chinese companies on the local area has been recognized by the interviewees in the target countries.
Interviewees believe that the positive role that Chinese companies play in local economic development is mainly to bring advanced technology, bring new capital investment, and provide new employment opportunities.
At the same time, science and technology, processing and manufacturing, infrastructure and energy resources are areas where overseas interviewees look forward to strengthening cooperation with Chinese companies in the future.
The survey also shows that global respondents have a high degree of recognition of sustainable development, and 80% of the respondents believe that "the main responsibility for sustainable development lies with enterprises, and enterprises from all countries need to pay attention to it."
At the same time, the interviewees recognized the contribution of the green "Belt and Road" to sustainable development and believed that Chinese companies have a lot to do in promoting global sustainable development.
Going out has achieved remarkable results
The survey shows that the recognition of Chinese companies by people in various countries and regions has shown an upward trend year by year.
This reflects the remarkable results of Chinese companies going global.
As China's largest and one of the earliest contractors engaged in international projects, China State Construction Group adheres to the concept of priority development, promotes facility connectivity and urban quality improvement, and has built more than 7,000 projects around the world.
Landmark buildings such as the Moi International Sports Center in Kenya, the King Rama VIII Bridge in Thailand, and the new headquarters of the Central Bank of Kuwait have been printed with local currency and have become business cards for Chinese construction to go global.
In the opinion of Gu Xueming, the dean of the Institute of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, Chinese companies going global have effectively promoted the economic development of the host country and employment of the people, and also provided new development opportunities for companies in the host country in difficulties.
As of the end of 2020, my country's foreign direct investment stock has reached US$2.3 trillion; China has more than 3,500 companies of various types in Africa, and the proportion of local employees in Africa is more than 80%.
During the "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" period, Chinese enterprises' foreign contracted projects have completed a total turnover of 825.9 billion US dollars. A number of key projects have progressed smoothly, effectively improving the level of infrastructure construction in the host country and providing strong support for local economic and social development.
Transnational mergers and acquisitions have become an important path for Chinese companies to allocate global resources and build global networks.
The Smederevo Steel Plant is a century-old steel plant in Serbia and was on the verge of closing down due to various reasons.
In April 2016, HBIS Group officially acquired the Smederevo Steel Plant, which ended its 7-year history of losses in just six months.
With the help of HBIS Group in terms of capital, technology, management, etc., the steel plant continued to improve. It produced 6.639 million tons of steel in five years and achieved sales revenue of 4.659 billion U.S. dollars. It has become the largest export company in Serbia for three consecutive years. .
"The original intention of Hegang's acquisition is to achieve a win-win situation and make the company develop better and better, rather than simply pursuing profit." said Yu Yong, chairman of Hegang Group.
Sustainability is promising
At present, opportunities and challenges coexist in the development of corporate internationalization.
Going out, going in, and going up to promote the high-quality development of the “Belt and Road” construction all require high-level positions, courageous responsibility, and good deeds of Chinese enterprises.
Du Zhanyuan, director of the China Foreign Languages Bureau, pointed out that sustainable development is not only a common goal of all countries in the world, but also a strategic choice and lasting driving force for China to achieve national rejuvenation and people's happiness.
Focusing on the implementation of global development initiatives and sustainable development goals, and strengthening the global image of Chinese companies, one of them is to adhere to the people-oriented approach and pay attention to and enhance the well-being of the people of all countries.
Among the ten outstanding cases of Chinese companies' international image construction announced at the forum, there are many typical cases of companies helping local economic and social development.
In order to allow people from all countries to enjoy the achievements of modern aerospace technology, the Fifth Research Institute of China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation has carried out exchanges and cooperation with many countries along the "Belt and Road", including exporting satellites, sharing data, establishing facilities, and training technologies.
Up to now, the data of dozens of Beidou navigation satellites has been opened to the world, and 120 countries are using this world-class navigation service.
"The fulfillment of social responsibility must be closely integrated with the sustainable development of the country where the business is located, so that better results can be achieved." China Petrochemical Corporation spokesperson Lv Dapeng said that fulfilling social responsibility is an obligation of the global business community. It is the most cost-effective investment and the most common communication theme.
Taking the Saudi project as an example, Sinopec is committed to promoting the organic connection between China’s “Belt and Road” initiative and Saudi Arabia’s “2030 Vision” and invested US$8.6 billion in the establishment of a joint venture in Yanbu.
This is Sinopec's first and largest overseas refining project, helping Saudi Arabia transform from a resource exporting country to a resource deep processing country.
Sinopec not only established a plant in Saudi Arabia, but also established a training center, which has trained more than 60,000 Saudi employees to improve the business skills of young Saudis and help them find jobs. The development of the project is in resonance with the needs of the host country.
Experts at the conference believed that in order to build an international brand image, companies must not only operate in compliance with regulations and focus on providing high-quality products and services, but also actively integrate into the local society, fulfill their social responsibilities, and promote sustainable development.
Strengthening cultural exchanges, mutual learning among civilizations, and continuously enhancing mutual understanding and friendship between peoples of all countries will help enterprises to move forward steadily and farther abroad.