China tries getting rich in America’s backyard

Some major Chinese companies are attempting to gain a foothold in new markets such as Brazil, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Several big Chinese companies have been moving to attract consumers and hire more workers in recent months amid increased competition and mounting trade tensions with the U.S., according to the NYT. In May, Meituan, China’s largest food delivery platform, announced that it would shell out $1 billion to establish operations in Brazil, the NYT reported.

“The golden time for Meituan’s food delivery business in China may be over,” Ernan Cui, a consumer analyst at the research firm Gavekal Dragonomics in Beijing, told the NYT.

Cui also told the NYT that factors such as stringent regulations and increasing competition are “all adding pressure” on the company.

Moreover, Mixue, a Chinese multinational fast-food restaurant chain, recently said it was planning to hire thousands of employees in Brazil, the NYT reported. Similarly, Temu, a popular Chinese shopping site, began selling products in Brazil in June 2024. In May, the Trump administration ended a tariff loophole that allowed certain packages valued at $800 or less from China to enter the U.S. duty-free, which has impacted popular Chinese e-commerce websites such as Temu and Shein.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign countries such as China have also been a key factor in some of the Chinese companies seeking to find new buyers, the NYT reported.

“Chinese companies are finding it harder to grow domestically,” Vey-Sern Ling, an equities adviser in Singapore at the private bank Union Bancaire Privée, told the NYT. “Exports and overseas expansion is one way to support continued growth.”

In May, Chinese companies pledged to invest roughly $4.7 billion in Brazil in initiatives such as expanded automotive manufacturing and renewable energy. Some Chinese automakers have also recently vowed to build new factories in Brazil, Reuters reported.

Additionally, Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting with Latin American leaders in May, which included President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

“When the Chinese companies go abroad, making money is the secondary priority — they want to dominate the market first,” Heatherm Huang, a co-founder of Measurable A.I., a Hong Kong-based tech company that analyzes online shopping data for financial firms, told the NYT.

Meituan, Mixue, Temu and Shein did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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