Against the backdrop of a profound restructuring of the global industrial landscape, the globalization of Chinese enterprises is accelerating into a new phase. On May 19, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) released a new white paper, "Rooted Globally, Building on China: Corporate Real Estate Strategy Escorts the Globalization of Chinese Enterprises." The report points out that Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion is undergoing a significant transformation from "going out" to "taking root." Going global is no longer limited to simple capital export but focuses on capability spillover, ecosystem integration, and long-term value creation. An increasing number of Chinese companies are committed to "truly taking root" in target markets, embedding themselves in local industrial chains, establishing regional operational centers, and building global brand influence.

Zhang Jing, CEO of JLL China, stated, "Real estate strategy is deeply integrated into every aspect of a company's global layout, significantly elevating its core value within the overseas expansion strategy of Chinese enterprises. Currently, constructing a 'corporate real estate strategic system' that is highly synergistic with the company's globalization strategy and precisely matches overseas business needs has become an indispensable core support for Chinese enterprises to achieve high-quality, sustainable global expansion."

It is reported that the current overseas expansion of Chinese enterprises is forming a new development pattern. This pattern is based on "policy elevation and value chain upgrading," characterized by "diversified entities, global ecosystem layout, and being born global," with "deep localization" as its core anchor. Specifically, the new round of overseas expansion policies has been comprehensively elevated. Chinese enterprises have shifted from "scale priority" to "value priority," using technological innovation as the engine to climb the high end of the value chain. This is the distinct main theme of Chinese enterprise globalization in the new era.

Building on this, the participants in Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion have become more diversified, covering enterprises across the entire industrial chain and of various types. The expansion model has also shifted from single business and market focus to a "systematic layout of the global industrial ecosystem." "Born global" enterprises—those with inherent global genes or a developmental mindset for globalization—are becoming important new forces for the high-quality overseas expansion of Chinese enterprises. Simultaneously, Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion is gradually shifting towards "deep integration into local industrial chains," creating value by taking root locally and building a "symbiotic and win-win" development relationship with the local community.

Under these six major trends, corporate real estate, as a key carrier for global business implementation, connecting internal and external resources, and ensuring long-term stable operations, runs through every link and the complete value chain of Chinese enterprises' global layout. Consequently, the continuous upgrading of Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion has also generated unprecedented rigid demand for corporate real estate.

Notably, JLL survey data shows that 82% of respondent enterprises indicated that overseas property site selection is fraught with challenges. The complexity of overseas real estate implementation has caused most companies' expansion plans to encounter various unexpected situations, such as "overall project delays, budget overruns, and being forced to accept suboptimal or temporary solutions."

The white paper organically integrates the frontline practices of numerous expanding enterprises, summarizing them into the "seven most representative typical scenarios" related to real estate during the overseas expansion process of Chinese enterprises. It provides strategic guidance for the practical implementation of overseas real estate based on the genuine demands of enterprises. The seven scenarios cover various property types involved in Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion, encompassing all stages of the corporate real estate implementation process. These include: overseas office site selection and fitting-out, retail brand overseas store expansion, overseas logistics and warehouse leasing site selection, industrial plant implementation, overseas data center construction, as well as the practices and challenges of real estate valuation when Chinese enterprises conduct global layouts through Hong Kong IPOs.

Yao Yao, Director of Research for JLL China, summarized, "As Chinese enterprises advance further in globalization, the supporting role of real estate and the strategic synergy of real estate affairs are becoming increasingly important. More and more companies are realizing that real estate strategy urgently needs to transform into a systematic, proactive strategic deployment. 'Professional services for overseas real estate' are gradually becoming a core rigid need for enterprises, providing crucial support in strategic deployment and overcoming expansion difficulties."