Buyers visit the 31st China Yiwu International Commodities Fair — Export Goods Exhibition in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, on Oct 21, 2025. [Photo/IC]

The Zhejiang Provincial Committee of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade outlined four major transformations in the way Zhejiang enterprises are expanding overseas at the 2025 EY China Overseas Investment Forum, held in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, on Oct 21.

According to Yan Jia, vice-chairperson of the committee, Zhejiang enterprises are shifting from traditional product- and labor-export models toward technology and brand exports.

In 2024, Zhejiang registered 1,696 overseas investment projects worth $17 billion, ranking second nationwide after Guangdong province in both project volume and investment scale.

The United States remained one of Zhejiang's largest export markets, with exports reaching 630 billion yuan ($88.46 billion) in 2024, accounting for 16.2 percent of the province's total exports.

Yan said Zhejiang's overseas expansion has undergone four distinct transitions.

The first shift, she said, is from passive relocation to proactive global deployment, as more enterprises now choose to expand overseas voluntarily in response to global industrial restructuring rather than external pressures.

The second transition is from a narrow focus on exports to Europe and the United States toward a more diversified global presence. While exports to the US declined in the first three quarters, exports to ASEAN, the Middle East, and Latin America each grew by more than 10 percent year-on-year.

In the first half of 2025, four of the province's top five overseas investment destinations were Southeast Asian countries — Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia — showing sustained investment momentum in the region.

The third shift is from traditional industries to emerging sectors. In the first three quarters of 2025, exports of new energy vehicles, lithium batteries, and photovoltaic products grew nearly 20 percent year-on-year, compared with 4.8 percent growth in labor-intensive goods such as daily necessities.

The fourth transition is from product exports to brand-driven globalization. A growing number of Zhejiang enterprises are investing in independent brand development, with proprietary brands accounting for an increasing share of exports. Many Zhejiang-made brands are now gaining global visibility and recognition for their innovation and quality.