(Yicai Global) March 3 -- The founder of TCL, China’s largest maker of color televisions, will propose at the upcoming Two Sessions that the country support its manufacturers in their efforts to expand business worldwide and counter the current anti-globalization trend.

China should further improve the platforms that support companies’ global business expansion, Li Dongsheng, who is also a delegate to the National People’s Congress, said in an interview with Yicai Global on March 1.

They include overseas business insurance platforms, which can help enterprises manage part of their risk, and financing platforms, while the support systems in some countries need strengthening, he said.

The Two Sessions refers to the annual meetings of the NPC, China’s national legislature, and the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, the country’s top political advisory body, whose members can make proposals which the government must respond to within six months.

Li noted that Chinese exports have been increasingly restricted over the past two years. While developed countries are worried about de-industrialization and impose tariffs on Chinese products, some developing nations have launched protectionist policies to develop their own manufacturing industries.

Against this background, the globalization of Chinese businesses should change from exporting products to laying out industrial chains, Li suggested.

To enter the North American and European markets, TCL set up factories in Mexico and Poland, side-stepping tariffs in the corresponding regions. In addition, the Huizhou-based firm has plants in Brazil, Southeast Asia and India, and will consider setting up factories in Africa to improve business in the Middle East, he added.

The globalization layout of the industrial chain has not affected exports, Li said. On the contrary, overseas factories have driven the export of core devices, materials and equipment. TCL’s exports increased 70 percent last year to USD19.4 billion, largely due to the shipment of devices such as LCD panels and silicon solar wafers.

Chinese firms should learn from multinational corporations in developed countries and establish a global industrial chain, he stressed.

Different strategies are needed to establish industrial chains in different countries. For example, Vietnam is close to China and has efficient logistics, so TCL can bring its Chinese suppliers to build factories in Vietnam, while Brazil is far from China, where it is better to support local suppliers, Li said.

TCL mainly makes color TVs and semiconductor display devices. According to AVC Revo data, the company shipped 23.4 million color TVs worldwide last year, ranking first at home and third globally after South Korea’s Samsung and LG.

The fifth annual session of the 13th National Committee of the CPPCC will open in Beijing tomorrow, and the 13th NPC will open its fifth annual session the day after.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Peter Thomas