(Yicai) Feb. 13 -- China has officially launched a national-level comprehensive overseas service platform that will aid its 52,000 companies operating overseas and hundreds of thousands of foreign trade firms aligning with international rules and improving their overseas operations’ compliance level.

Launched on Feb. 11, the platform connects government departments at various levels with diplomatic missions abroad and coordinates over 100 foreign investment promotion agencies. It boasts more than 260 columns, provides links to 37 specialized sub-platforms, and coordinates cross-domain resources, including legal, fiscal, financial, foreign affairs, economic, and trade resources.

This platform is a systematic response by the Chinese government to changes in corporate internationalization, Yu Xinding, professor at the School of International Trade and Economics at the University of International Business and Economics, told Yicai. As Chinese firms abroad exhibit characteristics of ‘multi-point layout and long-term operations,’ relying solely on their own experience is no longer sufficient to cover the intricate institutional differences in global markets, she noted.

Countries’ adjustments in trade, investment, and industrial policies in recent years have made the institutional environment for cross-border operations more complex, Yu explained. This has shifted the logic behind Chinese firms’ overseas expansion from seeking lower costs and broader markets to ensuring supply chain security and long-term survival, which is a realistic choice to cope with external uncertainties.

With the platform, Chinese companies will have a more systematic and authoritative public service supported by centrally-integrated policy information, institutional rules, and risk alerts, according to Yu.

During overseas operations, enterprises generally face difficulties in obtaining information and high costs in understanding rules, and they are particularly prone to finding themselves in a difficult position due to unfamiliarity with local systems in areas such as law, standards, finance and taxation, and regulation, Yu said. The creation of this platform also aims to reduce enterprises’ exploration costs and mitigate errors.

“The role of the platform is not just to provide information, but also to change the position of enterprises in overseas operations,” Yu pointed out. “In the past, many firms had an insufficient understanding of local rules and often could only passively respond to regulatory changes or compliance requirements in foreign markets, lacking room for advance preparation.”

Through systematic rule sorting, risk alerts, and compliance guidance, enterprises can make contingency plans before entering the market, she noted, adding that they can have more confidence when negotiating cooperation, signing contracts, and making investment decisions, shifting from passive to proactive responses.

Editor: Futura Costaglione