China has urged leading state-backed tech companies to expand overseas, particularly in Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, to counter mounting pressure from the tariff war.
The world's top display maker 
BOE and computer maker Lenovo are among the companies considering more aggressive expansion into China-friendly destinations.
BOE has been assessing whether it should invest in companies like TPV, a Hong Kong-HQ’ed TV and monitor maker with production operations in Latin America and Europe, and whether acquiring European display/monitor brands would help strengthen its market presence. It has also been evaluating plans for its own production capacity in Europe.
BOE has ventured into the electronic paper market by partnering with E-ink, with Europe identified as a key growth target.
The government forbids display makers from investing in the capital- and technology-intensive front-end manufacturing process outside of the country but has encouraged them to set up back-end modules and assembly capacity overseas. These processes are more labor-intensive but less technologically demanding and easier to build closer to local customers.

Lenovo has advised a team to focus on non-US overseas markets such as Europe this year, and is building new production facilities with Saudi Arabia-HQ’ed electronics maker Alat in Riyadh to start producing laptops and desktop computers in 2026 for the Middle East, Europe and Africa markets. Saudi Arabia can potentially be a safe haven for exports to the US.
TV makers are also considering diversifying into Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia this year to avoid being too dependent on Mexico. TCL, Hisense and many others have long made Mexico a key production site for serving the North American market, though TCL has also been an aggressive investor in Vietnam in recent years.
automakers are also increasingly looking outward. Last month, state-owned SAIC Motor unveiled its "Global Strategy 3.0" at the Shanghai Auto Show, signaling a major push into international markets. The plan includes exploring localization in Europe, building a knock-down factory in Southeast Asia, and rolling out fully localized operations in Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. In Africa, the company aims to establish Egypt, Morocco and South Africa as key hubs to support a broader market presence.
"It logically makes sense for SOEs to invest more overseas, because they have so many assets in USD, including US treasuries, which can be used for overseas investment and acquisitions.”
ASEAN countries that have been the main destinations for diversification now face 25-50% tariffs. Countries that only face 10% tariffs, like Latin American countries, now look more attractive, although other costs like transportation and local regulation will need to be taken into account.
Notable Chinese outbound direct investment projects last year included more than $10B in investments by major players such as battery maker CATL's facilities in Spain and Indonesia, Gotion High-Tech's battery plant in Slovakia, and BYD's car assembly plant in Turkey.
While Europe hopes to prevent an influx of cheap Chinese goods, it’d welcome certain high-tech or high-quality investments, particularly in the EV sector.
display makers have been prioritizing Southeast Asia and India for expanding their back-end display module production capacity. The TV assembly sector has long been very diversified into regional markets because of long-standing tariffs put in place by numerous countries.
"Look at Mexico. It was targeted a few months ago, and many display suppliers who have capacity there were rushing to draft alternatives and move more to Southeast Asia. ... But now the country does not have such a problem, for now. It is better to wait for the 90-day grace period [to end], and then people should have a clearer picture of what to do next."
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Techn
BOE and computer maker Lenovo are among the companies considering more aggressive expansion into China-friendly destinations.
BOE has been assessing whether it should invest in companies like TPV, a Hong Kong-HQ’ed TV and monitor maker with production operations in Latin America and Europe, and whether acquiring European display/monitor brands would help strengthen its market presence. It has also been evaluating plans for its own production capacity in Europe.
BOE has ventured into the electronic paper market by partnering with E-ink, with Europe identified as a key growth target.
The government forbids display makers from investing in the capital- and technology-intensive front-end manufacturing process outside of the country but has encouraged them to set up back-end modules and assembly capacity overseas. These processes are more labor-intensive but less technologically demanding and easier to build closer to local customers.

Lenovo has advised a team to focus on non-US overseas markets such as Europe this year, and is building new production facilities with Saudi Arabia-HQ’ed electronics maker Alat in Riyadh to start producing laptops and desktop computers in 2026 for the Middle East, Europe and Africa markets. Saudi Arabia can potentially be a safe haven for exports to the US.
TV makers are also considering diversifying into Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Southeast Asia this year to avoid being too dependent on Mexico. TCL, Hisense and many others have long made Mexico a key production site for serving the North American market, though TCL has also been an aggressive investor in Vietnam in recent years.
automakers are also increasingly looking outward. Last month, state-owned SAIC Motor unveiled its "Global Strategy 3.0" at the Shanghai Auto Show, signaling a major push into international markets. The plan includes exploring localization in Europe, building a knock-down factory in Southeast Asia, and rolling out fully localized operations in Latin America, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand. In Africa, the company aims to establish Egypt, Morocco and South Africa as key hubs to support a broader market presence.
"It logically makes sense for SOEs to invest more overseas, because they have so many assets in USD, including US treasuries, which can be used for overseas investment and acquisitions.”
ASEAN countries that have been the main destinations for diversification now face 25-50% tariffs. Countries that only face 10% tariffs, like Latin American countries, now look more attractive, although other costs like transportation and local regulation will need to be taken into account.
Notable Chinese outbound direct investment projects last year included more than $10B in investments by major players such as battery maker CATL's facilities in Spain and Indonesia, Gotion High-Tech's battery plant in Slovakia, and BYD's car assembly plant in Turkey.
While Europe hopes to prevent an influx of cheap Chinese goods, it’d welcome certain high-tech or high-quality investments, particularly in the EV sector.
display makers have been prioritizing Southeast Asia and India for expanding their back-end display module production capacity. The TV assembly sector has long been very diversified into regional markets because of long-standing tariffs put in place by numerous countries.
"Look at Mexico. It was targeted a few months ago, and many display suppliers who have capacity there were rushing to draft alternatives and move more to Southeast Asia. ... But now the country does not have such a problem, for now. It is better to wait for the 90-day grace period [to end], and then people should have a clearer picture of what to do next."
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Techn