The Ministry of Commerce of China File photo: VCG

China's Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) on Wednesday launched a national-level overseas comprehensive service platform, upgrading support mechanisms for companies expanding abroad. The move was seen as an important step toward improving the service framework for outbound enterprises by analysts, who said that it provides stronger institutional support for risk prevention and will help enhance Chinese firms' global competitiveness.

The launch comes as the scale of Chinese companies operating overseas continues to expand and demand grows for more professional, high-quality support services.

The platform brings together service resources across a wide range of areas, including legal affairs, taxation and finance, foreign affairs, commerce and trade, logistics, customs and trade promotion, according to a statement released by the MOFCOM.

An official who introduced the platform at a press briefing on January 26 said that it is designed to address common outbound investment needs - including policy consultation, administrative procedures, country-specific information, regulatory updates, resource matching and risk prevention, with the aim of building a "single-window" and "one-stop" service channel for enterprises going global.

The platform connects relevant government departments, industry associations, service providers, Chinese embassies and consulates abroad, and more than 100 foreign investment promotion agencies, according to the MOFCOM statement.

It also links 37 sub-platforms and will serve 52,000 overseas Chinese enterprises, hundreds of thousands of foreign trade firms and thousands of companies engaged in overseas contracting and labor cooperation, it added.

The launch represents more than the rollout of a new policy tool, Li Yong, an executive council member of the China Society for WTO Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday. It reflects a structural upgrade of China's outbound service system in a more complex global economic landscape, and translates high-level opening-up commitments into practical support measures, Li said.

In recent years Chinese enterprises, particularly small and medium-sized firms, have often struggled to navigate legal, regulatory and government-related challenges in overseas markets on their own, according to Li. 

"The new platform is expected to better meet their growing need for coordinated public services and provide more dependable support as they expand abroad," he added.

In recent years, Chinese enterprises have continued to expand their global footprint, with the scale of outward direct investment remaining among the world's leading levels. According to MOFCOM statistics, as of the end of 2024 Chinese investors had established 52,000 overseas enterprises across 190 countries and regions.

The structure of China's overseas expansion is evolving. Chinese firms are moving beyond traditional goods trade into sectors such as new energy, the digital economy and high-end manufacturing. This diversification places higher demands on legal, financial, tax and risk management services, analysts said.

The upgraded platform is also expected to encourage enterprises to cluster in overseas industrial parks and facilitate communication channels between Chinese authorities and host governments, Li said, adding that such mechanisms are vital for safeguarding legitimate rights and guiding compliant operations abroad.

The initiative builds on earlier policy efforts. In October 2025, multiple government departments including the MOFCOM issued guidelines calling for further improvement of the overseas comprehensive service system and for building a framework commensurate with the scale and development of China's outbound investment and trade. 

Local governments with suitable conditions have also been encouraged to develop outbound service hubs, with cities including regional centers in East China's Zhejiang's Province, Shanghai and Shenzhen in South China's Guangdong Province already exploring integrated online and on-site service models, according to the MOFCOM.

The expert further pointed to the increasingly complex global trade environment and tighter regulatory scrutiny in some countries, saying that this had made the move both necessary and timely, as Chinese companies now face not only market competition but also a growing array of regulatory challenges, including legal, environmental and data security. 

The platform is expected to serve as a practical "public-service tool kit," enhancing their stability and long-term sustainability within an increasingly complex international regulatory landscape, he noted.

The MOFCOM said that it will continue strengthening the platform with the aim of enhancing firms' international competitiveness, standardizing their overseas investment and operations, and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises abroad through better resource coordination and more efficient service delivery.