Historically, China has been the prime market for many multi-national corporations (MNCs) to establish their operations and then directly manufacture and source goods and industrial products at a very low cost. But today, the primary reason to these same MNCs to maintain operations in China is to primarily serve the China market, or to ‘be in China for China’. The opportunity continues to be tremendous with access to just under 1.4 billion prospective consumers and 10.6 million enterprises.

• Focus is acutely on how to take advantage of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA), presenting Australian businesses with a 12-18 month window of opportunity to create a competitive advantage and outperform other markets yet to establish similar trade access agreements with China.
• Notwithstanding recent increases in Australia’s trade with China, while appetite is high, the actual number of Australian business exporting to China or maintaining operations within China is quite minimal.
• Selling into or sourcing from China’s many markets is not easy – view China as a number of markets and plan how to interact with each market separately, tailoring product specifications and delivery mechanisms that meet the needs of local customers within distinct markets.