For EU SMEs without an established local presence in China, the most common option available to look for potential Chinese partners is through trade fairs, especially taking place in China, but also taking place in the EU or other countries around the world. EU SMEs are also advised to get in contact with the embassy/consulate or chamber of commerce/trade promotion organisation of their country operating in China, as these may have networks of contacts, may organise business mission and/or may facilitate connections. The EU SME Centre occasionally also organises/support business mission to China: the last one was organised in September 2024 and took representatives of 9 EU green tech SMEs in Shanghai, Suzhou and Chengdu (see this link for more details).

EU SMEs with international clients in other markets may also consider asking these clients whether their product or solution could be of interest to the client’s subsidiary in China. In some cases, this approach has proven effective. There are examples of European manufacturing companies that are now relatively successful in China, having initially entered the market to support the expansion of one of their international clients.

For European technology companies, participating in scientific/academic conferences held in China is also a powerful approach. Chinese scientists/engineers often have different roles in various institutions, from academia to research and industry (and even government). Many well established conferences issue calls for papers, to which anybody can respond, including R&D personnel of European companies.