From solar to AI: why China may be entering its ‘Go Global 3.0’ era

Chinese corporate expansion overseas is shifting from solar equipment to Artificial Intelligence-enabled industrial technology, with a new generation of companies targeting global markets from inception, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs.“China has entered the ‘Go Global 3.0’ era,” wrote the investment bank’s team, led by Jacqueline Du, in a research note published on Tuesday.The evolution moves beyond low-cost manufacturing goods and the “new three” sectors – electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries and solar photovoltaic technology – that drove the first two export eras. Domestic firms are now targeting hardware across the AI value chain, from data centre infrastructure to automated industrial systems.