The Global Pursuit: How Chinese MNEs Leverage Acquisitions to Achieve Strategic Intent

Over the past few decades, China has emerged as a dominant force in global manufacturing, producing large shares of key products, such as personal computers, mobile phones and electric vehicles. Along with this production boom, Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) have aggressively pursued cross-border mergers and acquisitions to secure strategic assets in developed countries. This mirrors Japan’s global expansion in the 1970s and the 1980s, raising concerns regarding the strategic motives behind China’s growing influence. This study examines the strategic asset-seeking behaviour of CMNEs, focusing on the case studies of Lenovo and Haers. It uses a framework that integrates the strategic intent view with the resource-based view to explore two key questions: What are the strategic intents of CMNEs behind their strategic asset seeking and acquisition? How are cross-border strategic asset acquisitions used to propel CMNEs towards their strategic intent? The findings offer insights for Western companies into the long-term objectives of CMNEs and the strategies employed to achieve their strategic intents, enabling them to respond strategically rather than tactically. Moreover, emerging market firms can acquire valuable lessons from this research, including best practices for strategy development and resource utilisation, while being aware of the potential risks of associating Western brands with products from emerging markets.