Dialogue with Hu Guangbin: The path for Chinese companies to go global is long and arduous, and digitalization helps them to move steadily and far.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…” This is the classic opening line from Charles Dickens' *A Tale of Two Cities*, written in 1859.

As time moves to 2025, profound changes in the international market landscape, the restructuring of global industrial chains, changes in market demand, and the rapid development of technology and digitalization are pushing Chinese companies to re-examine and plan their global strategies. Today, a new wave of going global has swept across China, and "If you don't go global, you're out" is gradually becoming an industry consensus. For many companies, going global is no longer just a developmental need, but a crucial choice concerning their survival.

However, going global is not easy. The complexity of overseas markets and increasingly fierce competition far exceed expectations. Faced with numerous global players and powerful local companies, relying solely on "short, flat, and fast" marketing strategies is no longer enough to support long-term development. As a professional service provider deeply engaged in the field of intelligent digital globalization, Zhonqi Cross-border has a more far-reaching perspective.

"The path to global expansion is long and arduous, but we are more concerned with how to help our clients achieve steady and long-term success. Brand building is the key to achieving this goal," said Hu Guangbin, CPO of Zhonqi Group and head of the Zhonqi Cross-border Product R&D Center.

In his view, if overseas companies want to achieve long-term, sustainable growth, they must slow down and focus on building a brand moat to drive long-term sustainable development.

In this "best era for going global," we have reason to expect that Zhonqi Cross-border's intelligent digital capabilities and professional overseas service model can help corporate clients establish a strong brand influence in the global market, allowing them to go global more steadily and further.

Based on the above, in this issue of the "Zhonqi Spokesperson: Discussing Intelligent Growth" column, we have specially invited Mr. Hu, who has many years of experience in cross-border services, to discuss with us the brand building and sustainable growth of global companies.

Zhonqi Editor: You joined Zhonqi at its inception in 1999 and have grown with the company. Looking back on your years at Zhonqi, what experiences have been most memorable for you?

Hu Guangbin: In my more than 20 years at Zhonqi Group, I have participated in many projects, but the most memorable is the current cross-border work. Companies have vastly different product needs in different development cycles, but no period has seen such strong and concentrated customer demand for a particular type of business as now. Especially now, going global has become fundamental to the survival of many companies. This strong market demand has also driven us to continuously improve our product and service capabilities.

For our entire team, this is not just a market opportunity, but also a responsibility. How to empower enterprises with good products and help clients confidently meet the complex challenges of overseas markets is a question that my team and I have been constantly considering.

Zhonqi Editor: How do you define a "good product"? In R&D, how do you balance the relationship between technological innovation, customer needs, and customer experience?

Hu Guangbin: The essence of a good product lies in solving problems. Customers don't care what new technologies you use; they only care whether your product can efficiently solve their problems and whether it is safe and stable. Especially in the enterprise market, due to the large user base, products must be based on stability and ease of use.

Apple's iPhone is a good example. It doesn't stack the latest technologies, but uses mature technologies to ensure the overall stability of the system while providing an extremely simple user experience. This design philosophy is equally applicable to our product development.

As for technological innovation, I believe it should be reflected more in the underlying logic of the product. If technology can fundamentally change the customer's application mode and empower customers with a more efficient and flexible way to achieve their goals, that is a truly meaningful product breakthrough.

Zhonqi Editor: Doing cross-border business requires balancing a global perspective with local needs, which is a very challenging task, placing high demands on team leaders. In terms of daily work and team management, what experiences and methods can you share with us?

Hu Guangbin: In my opinion, an excellent team leader may not be the perfect businessman, but must be the best product manager and the most extreme customer experience advocate. When talking about their customers and products, their eyes should light up, and it shouldn't just be about business and data.

Therefore, I often emphasize to the team, the products we create must be able to truly solve customers' practical needs and provide customers with unique value. This is not an empty phrase, but a principle that must be adhered to for a long time. The most direct and effective way is to immerse ourselves in the customer's world and operate our products from the customer's perspective. This allows us to identify weaknesses in the product and even gain insights into potential needs that the customer has not yet realized.

At the same time, I also attach great importance to the construction of team collaboration culture. Only by allowing every team member to deeply participate in product optimization and understand the true value and significance of the product can everyone invest in their work with enthusiasm and a sense of responsibility. This not only makes our products more closely aligned with customer needs but also makes the entire team more cohesive, more flexible, and more efficient in the face of various challenges.

Zhonqi Editor: Now let's talk about going global. With the rapid changes in the global economy, how do you view the overall trend of Chinese companies going global?

Hu Guangbin: Since the 1990s, the journey of Chinese companies going global has gone through several stages. Initially, foreign trade processing and low-end manufacturing were the main forms of Chinese companies going global, relying on cheap labor and price advantages, which also resulted in relatively limited profit margins for Chinese companies. After China joined the WTO in 2001, it began to fully integrate into the global manufacturing industry chain and gradually shifted to higher value-added industries.

With the changing global market environment, especially as labor-intensive OEM businesses are shifting to lower-cost regions such as Vietnam and Indonesia, Chinese companies are forced to enhance their competitiveness and develop towards higher value-added brands. From OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturing) to ODM (Original Design Manufacturing) , and then to OBM (Original Brand Manufacturing) , the role of Chinese companies going global is constantly changing and upgrading.

Today, the core of Chinese companies going global is no longer simply "going out," but rather building brands globally, optimizing supply chains, building overseas platforms and channels, and forming comprehensive market penetration and in-depth layout.

ZCQ Editor: At the current stage, what do you think are the core advantages and main challenges for Chinese companies going global?

Hu Guangbin: The core advantages of Chinese companies mainly lie in two aspects: First, China has the most complete and competitive supply chain in the world, which can provide stable and efficient product supply for overseas markets. Second, Chinese companies have a clear advantage in service quality, able to quickly respond to customer needs and provide efficient after-sales service.

However, the challenges are also obvious. First, global market competition is fierce, especially when facing strong local brands, Chinese companies must continuously improve in brand building and product quality in order to gain market share. Second, global trade barriers, cultural differences, regulatory issues, and different consumer habits in various countries make it challenging for Chinese companies to enter new markets.

In addition to the challenges mentioned above, overseas marketing is undoubtedly a typical difficulty for companies in the process of going global. Due to the cultural differences and different consumer behaviors in different countries, the marketing channels, methods, and reach methods for these customer groups are different. Therefore, companies going global, especially in the initial stage, must clearly find their market positioning and flexibly adjust their marketing strategies according to the characteristics of each market.

ZCQ Editor: In the new wave of going global, what roles have data, technology, and platforms played in helping companies succeed in going global?

Hu Guangbin: First, before going global, companies can use market insight tools to conduct insight analysis of the target market. For example, through ZCQ Cross-border's products, they can understand data from multiple dimensions such as customs in various countries, search engine advertising, and social media behavior. This data can help companies accurately analyze the competitive landscape and consumer needs of the target market, and then determine market positioning and target groups.

Second, in the process of going global, companies also need to rely on big data analysis to optimize marketing strategies. By real-time tracking and analysis of the effectiveness of different channels and marketing activities, they can continuously adjust and improve marketing accuracy. In addition, with the help of customer lifecycle management tools, companies can provide more accurate services throughout the customer service cycle, which helps to improve customer loyalty and repurchase rate, thus establishing long-term competitiveness in overseas markets.

ZCQ Editor: Nowadays, everyone is saying that "if you don't go global, you're out," but the overseas market is far more complex than imagined. What advice would you give to companies that intend to go global?

Hu Guangbin: First, as mentioned earlier, market insight before going global is crucial, including product positioning, target groups, and the competitiveness and pricing of the overseas market. Accurate positioning of the target market can provide a clear direction for subsequent marketing, localization, and supporting construction, avoiding blind expansion overseas.

Second, after deciding to go global, you need to make subsequent arrangements and preparations. For example, after advertising is placed, there are dedicated personnel to handle consultations; mechanical equipment needs localized services and after-sales guarantees, etc. At the same time, attention should also be paid to the compliance and safety requirements of the local market, and product testing, certification, or even modification should be carried out as necessary to adapt to the local market.

Finally, going global is definitely a long-term strategy. It should not only pursue short-term orders but also establish a long-term strategy for going global. By continuously promoting brand building and product upgrades, the company's competitiveness in the global market can be enhanced. Only in this way can the competitiveness of Chinese manufacturing in the global market be truly established, and the subsequent repurchase and customer loyalty of ToB business can be enjoyed.

ZCQ Editor: When did ZCQ Group begin exploring cross-border services? What important transformations have been experienced in this process?

Hu Guangbin: ZCQ Group started exploring cross-border services very early on. As early as 2006, when Google entered China, ZCQ Group became its first overseas advertising agency in China. From then on, we began to contact companies going global and helped customers develop overseas markets through independent websites and digital marketing.

The real strategic transformation occurred between 2018 and 2019. With the significant improvement in the production capacity and technological level of Chinese manufacturing, Chinese companies gradually shifted from relying on labor-intensive production to higher value-added technology-driven manufacturing and brand output. To adapt to this trend, ZCQ Group focused on cross-border business, established an independent cross-border team, and gradually established a complete set of overseas service operation system. It can be said that our cross-border business has gradually developed to where it is today with the upgrading of the domestic going global environment and Chinese manufacturing and productivity.

ZCQ Editor: Currently, brand building has become one of the key strategies for companies to cultivate overseas markets. How does ZCQ Cross-border leverage its advantages and service capabilities to help companies build strong brand competitiveness in the global market?

Hu Guangbin: The road for companies to go global is long and arduous, and we care more about being able to help customers "go steadily and far." The key to truly achieving "going steadily and far" lies in brand building. Brand building determines a company's long-term competitiveness in overseas markets. Without the support of brand power, companies need a lot of advertising and marketing investment every time they get an order; once brand power and customer loyalty are established, not only can they win continuous repurchase, but they can also smoothly promote subsequent new products, so that business can continue to grow.

At this level, ZCQ Cross-border can not only help companies obtain orders but more importantly, help companies build brand power and build their own private domain. With their own overseas customers and private domain, by continuously operating the private domain, reducing marketing budget, and ultimately achieving sustainable business growth, this is healthy overseas marketing.

In terms of execution, independent websites are the necessary path for corporate brand building. ZCQ Cross-border will create a brand image website for customers and promote it through multiple channels such as search engines and social media, thereby spreading brand influence and letting more people know. In this way, the website becomes the company's private domain operation base overseas.

In addition, as I mentioned earlier, the complexity of the global market cannot be ignored. Consumer habits, media preferences, and information dissemination methods vary across different markets. Therefore, we have built omnichannel marketing capabilities to aggregate mainstream marketing channels in overseas markets as much as possible. This allows us to help companies accurately match target customers, reach consumers with efficient strategies, and enhance the brand's market influence.

ZTE Editor: Speaking of brand building, we have to talk about localization. How does ZTE Cross-border help clients build a localized presence and enhance their competitiveness in overseas markets?

Hu Guangbin: Localization is a key step in establishing a local brand presence and is also an important factor affecting customer repurchase rates. If companies can provide high-quality, efficient, and convenient localized services, customers will be willing to repurchase promptly.

ZTE Cross-border has extensive experience and strong advantages in localization. We have assembled a team of professional optimizers covering various markets and advertising and content channels. We can build service teams and tailor-made localization service solutions based on the specific needs of overseas companies. This not only accelerates the localization of Chinese companies in overseas markets but also supports their strategic goals of global operations, allowing clients to stand out in fierce international competition and truly achieve sustainable development.

ZTE Editor: In the current era where digital intelligence is leading the trend of going global, how does ZTE Cross-border leverage AI, big data analysis, and automated marketing to help clients improve their efficiency and success rate in going global?

Hu Guangbin: ZTE Cross-border helps companies comprehensively integrate advertising data from platforms such as Google, Facebook, and TikTok by establishing an omnichannel marketing data platform. With this platform, companies can clearly grasp the data and analysis results of the entire process from each exposure and click to the final conversion, thus providing strong decision-making support for overseas marketing decisions.

In the past, companies needed to log into each platform's advertising system one by one, and even use special methods to obtain this data. This was not only cumbersome but also lacked in-depth analysis capabilities. For example, exposure data may seem high, but if the target audience is not accurate, the conversion rate is difficult to improve. Attribution of the effects of multiple channels is even more complex and crucial, requiring comprehensive integration of multi-platform data and in-depth analysis using different algorithm models.

ZTE Cross-border's solution helps companies analyze and compare the effects of various platform placements in a central location, not only optimizing budget allocation but also automatically adjusting the budget distribution of various advertising channels based on real-time placement effects. This technology allows companies to get rid of the cumbersome work of managing multiple channels, relying on powerful digital intelligence data-driven capabilities to develop more efficient placement strategies and comprehensively improve overseas marketing effects.

ZTE Editor: Looking ahead to the next 3-5 years, what forward-looking strategic plans and product layouts does ZTE Cross-border have to help corporate clients achieve sustained growth and long-term value?

Hu Guangbin: We always believe that going global is a strategy that requires long-term commitment. As domestic companies deepen their global expansion efforts, ZTE Cross-border's products and services will continue to focus on how to help companies achieve real overseas performance growth. For example, helping companies improve their interaction quality with overseas customers, further enhancing the stickiness between companies and customers, and thus bringing sustained order growth to overseas companies. These are all important areas where ZTE Cross-border will continue to exert its efforts in the future.

The following is a fun interactive session where we have collected some questions that everyone was curious about from the last issue~

ZTE Editor: What is the boldest product decision you have ever made?

Hu Guangbin: Actually, it's not really a bold decision. As mentioned earlier, the core of enterprise-end products lies in stable operation and ease of use. Considering that the number of our enterprise clients in China is already among the top 5, product decisions need to be more cautious to make clients feel "reliable" and to withstand the test of the market in the long run.

ZTE Editor: In cross-border business, which country's market do you think is most worthy of attention? Why?

Hu Guangbin: In my opinion, the ASEAN market is still worth paying attention to. As China's largest trading partner, the ASEAN market has huge potential, but many foreign trade people seem to lack in-depth understanding of our neighbors and instead focus more on the European and American markets. I believe that with the continuous advancement of the "Belt and Road" national strategy, the next blue ocean market for foreign trade may be right next to us, no longer requiring Chinese companies to travel across the ocean.

ZTE Editor: If "ZTE Cross-border" were a future technology product, what disruptive capabilities would you want it to have?

Hu Guangbin: If possible, I hope it could cover every individual's inquiry globally.

ZTE Editor: If AI could replace part of your work, which part would you want it to take over first?

Hu Guangbin: Then let it take over this interview for me, hahaha.

ZTE Editor: Finally, please use one sentence to describe your expectations for the ZTE Cross-border team.

Hu Guangbin: Originating from ZTE, thriving in cross-border.

Finally, welcome everyone to leave a message in the comment area, telling the editor which "ZTE spokesperson" you hope to interview next and what questions you want to ask. Opportunities to communicate with bosses are rare, so welcome everyone to speak freely. As long as your questions are "outlandish" enough, there is a chance to be picked up by the editor!