Building Complementary Supply Chains Across Asia
China +
The “China+” strategy, pioneered in the early 2010s and propelled to strategic urgency by trade wars and supply chain disruptions, represents a fundamental recalibration of global operations, where firms maintain critical activities in China while systematically diversifying production to alternative markets like Vietnam, India, or Mexico.
This approach is not an exit from China—a market indispensable for its scale, infrastructure, and innovation—but a deliberate move to mitigate concentrated risk against tariffs, political uncertainty, and supply chain fragility. Successful deployment requires a nuanced analysis of labor economics, trade agreements, and local incentives, translating into tactical execution through nearshoring, dual sourcing, and leveraging emerging manufacturing bases in Southeast Asia. These are areas where GLD’s expertise can make a difference.
With over 60% of Fortune 500 companies now actively pursuing this model, China+ has evolved from a contingency plan to a core strategic imperative, where early movers in securing advantages within alternative hubs gain a lasting competitive edge, while those who delay risk being outpaced in an era of economic fragmentation.
Our Consultant in the Region
William Gu
Shareholder & Head of Greater China Strategy
William, with over 20 years of professional experience in the audit industry, holds official qualifications as a Chinese Certified Public Accountant since Dec 1998. He has a rich professional knowledge of all kinds of accounting principles and sophisticated skills in auditing for Foreign Investment Enterprises and State-owned Enterprises. He is an expert in Chinese Company Law, Accounting and tax law, and IFS. He has proven experience in providing professional consulting for investments, enterprise management, and setting internal control systems.
Geographical presence diversification should include areas where critical resources are located, and China is inevitably one of them.