Playing the game of catching-up: global strategy building in a Chinese company

Introduction Substantial numbers of Chinese firms have expanded their operations abroad in recent years (Warner et al. 2004, Fornes and Butt-Philip 2009). There were over 12,000 Chinese foreign affiliates operating across 168 countries at the end of 2008 (Ministry of Commerce 2008). China's outward foreign direct investment (FDI) ftows increased dramatically from US$830 million in 1990 to US$55.9 billion in 2008. They were predicted to reach $150 billion in 2009, exceeding inward FDI for the first time in at least the last 30 years (UNCTAD 2007, People's Daily 2009).