In 2013, against the backdrop of declining economic growth and demand and a persistently sluggish domestic construction machinery market, "exploring emerging markets" became a new way out for the construction machinery industry. Among them, as the earliest Chinese construction machinery enterprise to "go global," Zoomlion, relying on hard technological strength and soft cultural power, has set a benchmark for the internationalization of Chinese enterprises.

　　Zoomlion's "International Style"

　　"Whoever does well in the international market in the future will be the leader; merely guarding the Chinese market will lead to suffocation." This is the view of Zoomlion founder Zhan Chunxin when discussing how Chinese construction machinery enterprises can become bigger and stronger.

　　Chinese enterprises have long been regarded by the outside world as synonymous with simple processing. To go global, they must face worldwide competition, and the importance of technological support is self-evident. However, for Zoomlion, technological advantages have not become a threshold in international competition; instead, its advanced technology and strong independent R&D capabilities have become a booster for capturing international markets.

　　Relying on internationally leading technological levels, Zoomlion's mixer truck products successfully won tens of millions of dollars in orders in Russia. Tower cranes have also achieved stable batch sales in overseas markets such as Southeast Asia and the Middle East. It is estimated that in 2013, Zoomlion's overseas sales of tower cranes will increase by about 60% year-on-year, and its global market share will reach over 20%.

　　Soft Power Resolves Internationalization Challenges

　　The famous "Seven-Seven Law" of cross-border M&A once pointed out that 70% of mergers and acquisitions fail to achieve expected business value, and 70% of those failures are due to cultural integration after the merger. Zoomlion acquired Italy's CIFA in 2008. Facing cultural differences between China and abroad, how did Zoomlion achieve successful integration?

　　Zhan Chunxin attributed this to the "Five Basic Principles of Cross-border M&A" formed based on his own thinking and practice: inclusiveness, sharing, responsibility, rules, and dancing together. Inclusiveness means achieving cultural integration through respect, understanding, and proactive adaptation; sharing means sharing results and risks together and building a community of interests; responsibility means winning local respect through responsible behavior; rules means the contractual spirit of the modern market economy; dancing together means redefining roles and processes after the merger, with each person in their proper place and each contributing their strengths.

　　"Zoomlion's acquisition of CIFA is a successful example of Sino-Italian economic and trade cooperation. Such a successful acquisition interprets the efforts of Chinese entrepreneurs to realize the 'Chinese Dream.'" At the celebration of the fifth anniversary of Zoomlion's acquisition of CIFA on September 12 this year, Gao Yuanyuan, Minister-Counselor for Economic and Commercial Affairs at the Chinese Embassy in Italy, praised Zoomlion's internationalization pace in this way.

　　Capital Dancing to Expand International Territory

　　In Zhan Chunxin's view, "going global" is called "going," but in reality, it should be "running out."

　　"A new type of internationalization path cannot merely wait step by step for natural growth and evolution; it must also leverage external forces to achieve 'leapfrog' development. This 'force' is the international capital market." Zhan Chunxin believes that "leveraging the international capital market and conducting overseas mergers and acquisitions in a timely manner can enable Chinese enterprises to achieve high-level alignment and rapid maturity in systems, management, technology, culture, and values, and to stand on the same level and at the same weight class as multinational corporations."

　　The acquisition of Italy's CIFA for 271 million euros is a typical example of Zoomlion leveraging the capital market to achieve rapid development. Before the acquisition in 2008, Zoomlion's net assets were less than 4 billion yuan. The controlling stake acquisition had already pushed the asset-liability ratio above the 65% warning line, and a full acquisition would have put the company's financial condition in a very dangerous state. In this situation, Zoomlion chose to leverage the international capital market, which also brought benefits: it solved the financial problem and, by introducing co-investors, formed a "cultural buffer zone," laying a solid foundation for post-merger cultural integration.