Nation's tech companies on global niche

China's technology companies are entering a new phase of global expansion. While manufacturing scale and cost competitiveness remain critical, lasting growth increasingly depends on their ability to identify local demand, define products, develop core technologies and build direct relationships with consumers, experts said.

Anker Innovations, the Changsha, Hunan province-based smart-hardware tech company known initially for charging accessories, offers a window into such a transition.

Dual-listed in Shenzhen and Hong Kong, the company has directed proceeds into research and development, direct sales, supply-chain upgrades and global branding.

Anker generated 30.51 billion yuan ($4.25 billion) in revenue in 2025, up 23.5 percent year-on-year, with overseas markets contributing 96.6 percent. Charging and power-storage products remained its largest business, accounting for 50.5 percent of revenue. Meanwhile, smart-home products — including security cameras, robotic cleaners and creative printers — contributed 27.1 percent, while audio and visual products contributed 22.4 percent.

That diversification illustrates a broader structural change in the competitive logic of Chinese companies expanding abroad, said Li Yi, an associate researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation under the Ministry of Commerce.

"Cost advantages and supply chains are the entry ticket and ballast," Li said, adding that without a deep understanding of consumers, those strengths risk trapping companies into low-price competition.

Sustainable advantages increasingly come from integrating consumer insight, product definition, research and development, and delivery, she said.

Anker's expansion into balcony energy storage illustrates that approach. Peng Wenting, the company's vice-president and board secretary, said soaring electricity prices overseas prompted Anker to bridge the gaps between portable batteries and conventional home-storage systems, which can be costly and complicated to install.

The company launched plug-and-play balcony storage products in Germany in 2023, seeking to give households an easier way to store electricity and manage utility bills.

Chinese companies are also diversifying away from third-party e-commerce platforms that enabled their early overseas growth. While online channels still generated 70.2 percent of Anker's revenue in 2025, Peng said about 10 percent of total sales came through its own websites. The company is investing in the websites and directly operated stores to strengthen control over customer relationships and brand presentation.

"For us, building a multi-category smart-hardware business is a slow-win process. There was no single blockbuster that suddenly established the brand," Peng said.

Technology is anchoring this long-term investment. Anker's R&D expenses rose 37.2 percent to 2.89 billion yuan in 2025, equivalent to about 9.5 percent of revenue. Its latest wireless earbuds feature a codeveloped compute-in-memory AI audio chip designed to run on-device voice-isolation models while minimizing power consumption — a project that took two to three years to develop, she added.

The move into underlying technology is more significant than simply adding another device category, said Teng Bingsheng, professor of strategic management and associate dean for strategic research at Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business.

"Chinese companies are no longer just focused on making products. They are increasingly involved in deciding what products to make, what technologies to use and how to combine those technologies with specific consumer scenarios," Teng said. China's robust supply chain can accelerate engineering validation, prototyping and commercialization, allowing companies to adjust products to consumer feedback, he added.

Anker is also diversifying production. It outsources manufacturing and continues to rely on Chinese suppliers — particularly for newer and more technically demanding products — while adding capacity in Southeast Asia, mainly Vietnam, to increase hedging against trade uncertainties, Peng said.

lijing2009@chinadaily.com.cn