2026 Chinese Brand Internationalization Forum opens in Haikou to explore the path for Chinese brands to go overseas

China News Service, Haikou, October 20 (Reporter Wang Ziqian) The 2026 Chinese Brand Internationalization Forum with the theme of "Tidal Free Trade Port·Global Brand Chain" opened in Haikou on the 20th. The forum brought together more than 2,000 Chinese and foreign guests to discuss the strategic path for Chinese brands to move from "products overseas" to "brands overseas".

As global competition enters deep waters, Chinese brands going global have upgraded from mere product trade to the comprehensive export of technology, standards and culture. This forum will hold more than 20 parallel forums, focusing on cross-border compliance, digital marketing, industrial upgrading and other subdivided topics, providing Chinese enterprises with accurate reference for their overseas paths.

Liu Xiaoming, the governor of Hainan Province, said at the opening ceremony that the Hainan Free Trade Port, after customs closure, is giving full play to its role as the intersection of domestic and international dual circulation strategies and is committed to building a headquarters base for Chinese companies to enter the international market and for overseas companies to enter the Chinese market. For Chinese brands, the Hainan Free Trade Port, with its unique location and opening advantages, has paved an opening path with lower costs, higher efficiency, and smoother channels; for the Hainan Free Trade Port, Chinese brands are a strong engine for gathering traffic, and brand agglomeration will promote Hainan's trade growth, industrial upgrading, and momentum gathering.

Wang Yong, chairman of the organizer Brand Alliance and initiator of the China Brand Festival & Expo, said that the 2026 China Brand Internationalization Forum will bring together policies, channels, service agencies and upstream and downstream enterprises in Hainan to create a comprehensive platform integrating brand display, global procurement, policy consultation, and resource docking.

"To go global, Chinese brands must create products with taste, quality, and confidence." Dong Mingzhu, chairman of Gree Electric Appliances, said that Chinese brands cannot go global without the hard-core support of the real economy, and companies must adhere to independent innovation, independent research and development, and independent manufacturing.

Taking Gree Electric as an example, Dong Mingzhu said that the company has invested more than 26 billion yuan in research and development in the past five years, established 16 research institutes, 152 research institutes, and 1,458 laboratories, developed 50 "internationally leading" technologies, and applied for 140,201 domestic and foreign patents, including 77,584 invention patents.

There are not only opportunities but also challenges for brands going overseas. Sun Qixiang, former dean and professor of the School of Economics at Peking University, said that in a new environment where the global economic and trade pattern is being reshaped, geopolitical situations are turbulent, and international market rules are evolving, companies going global are a comprehensive competition of risk games and strategic competition. Enterprises must follow the sixteen-character policy of "compliance, digital intelligence, financial support, and ecological protection" to build a comprehensive safety barrier for going overseas.

Sinisa Beljan, Ambassador of Bosnia and Herzegovina to China, pointed out in her speech that the expansion of Chinese brands into the European market depends not only on price and products, but also on compliance and trust. "Europe is not a single market, but is composed of multiple markets with different languages, tastes and business habits. In addition to meeting rigid requirements such as quality, safety, data protection and environment, Chinese brands must also develop marketing strategies suitable for each country, invest in after-sales services, and establish solid cooperative relationships with local companies."

On the same day, the 2026 China Brands Going Overseas Expo with the theme of "Service Brands Going Overseas to Share the Global Future" also opened at the Hainan International Convention and Exhibition Center. The exhibition has four themed exhibition halls, covering four major sections: cross-border e-commerce and global supply chain ecology, fashion life and general health, regional and landmark brands, and future travel and key brands.

According to the organizer, the 2026 Chinese Brand Internationalization Forum and the 2026 China Brand Overseas Expo have jointly formed a "one exhibition, one conference" linkage, and are committed to relying on the policy advantages of Hainan Free Trade Port to provide full-link support for Chinese brands going overseas, from strategic planning, brand display to market expansion, and resource docking.