China’s manufacturing sector is undergoing a critical shift — from simply exporting goods to truly “going global.” For the rising wave of “China Intelligent Manufacturing” companies, what challenges are they encountering on the road to globalization? And amid shifting trade tariffs, what opportunities are they seeing from the frontlines?
At the 2025 01VC Forum on Intelligent Manufacturing and Global Expansion, Grace Yu, Managing Partner at 01VC, sat down with four portfolio company leaders to explore these questions. Joining her were:
- Li Jianguo, Founder of Robooter
- Li Lei, General Manager of China Sales at Hai Robotics
- Zhang Xueyi, Co-founder of TUSKROBOTS
- Vincent Zhu, Founder of 易买工品(YESMRO.cn)
Representing different stages of the value chain — from production to logistics to consumption — they shared firsthand experiences of the opportunities and challenges in taking “China Intelligent Manufacturing” global.
Part One: Going Global
Grace Yu, 01VC:
Each of you have both domestic and international operations. To begin, could you share an update on how your overseas business has been progressing?
Li Jianguo, Robooter:
We began international expansion in 2022, with Japan and South Korea as the first entry points. Since then, Europe has emerged as the company’s most successful market, led by strong traction in France, Germany, and the UK.
In March 2024, we entered the U.S. market. While the regulatory pathway for medical device certification is more complex, the company has already achieved over 10% of sales contribution from the U.S. Within a short period, this validates both product quality and market acceptance. Importantly, the U.S. opportunity is vast—comparable in size to Europe and Asia-Pacific (Japan and Korea) combined—positioning Robooter for meaningful scale as approvals and distribution channels expand.
Li Lei, Hai Robotics:
Hai Robotics has been global for many years, with overseas revenue now making up about 50% of the business. We have established local teams in Europe, North America, and Japan, which allows us to support clients directly in those markets. This presence has been important not only for sales but also for after-sales service, integration, and adapting solutions to local warehouse and logistics requirements. The company’s international footprint reflects steady expansion alongside its domestic growth.
Zhang Xueyi, TUSKROBOTS:
We expanded overseas only last year, with 20% of our first-year revenue coming from abroad — an even higher share of profit. Because our products are highly standardized, we quickly landed projects across Europe, Japan, Southeast Asia, South America, and North America. Our strategy has been to expand gradually through a distributor network.
Vincent Zhu, YESMRO:
We completed our first full year of industrial products expansion overseas last year. In China, we began building our own branded industrial products business around 2022. Once the domestic brand was established, we prepared for cross-border expansion in 2023 and formally launched in 2024.
The first year overseas involved a steep learning curve, but margins more than justified the effort. Domestically, the business runs with very fast turnover and strong cash flow, but margins remain relatively low. By contrast, the overseas business turns over more slowly, yet delivers significantly higher profitability. In roughly a year and a half, the cross-border business has been growing at close to 100%.
Part Two: Tariffs and Supply Chains
Grace Yu, 01VC:
Under the current tariff and trade policy environment, what kinds of impacts do you anticipate in the short, medium, and long term?
Li Jianguo, Robooter:
When the tariff policies were first introduced, the impact was significant — not only on our products, but also for brand owners and customers. The immediate reaction was a sense of panic; people didn’t know how to respond. In the short term, there was a lot of confusion, with an overwhelming amount of information to process. Companies had to dedicate resources to studying an issue they had never faced before.
Some of the larger players in our industry even demanded that their supply chains relocate to Vietnam. But after spending time on the ground, it became clear that without five to ten years of development, it would be very difficult to build the necessary capabilities there. Our industry requires a highly complete and sophisticated supply chain, and Vietnam simply does not yet have that foundation.”
From a longer-term perspective, there are certain channels in the U.S. and Europe that remain inaccessible to us, largely due to procurement requirements such as Made in America or Made in Europe. This is particularly relevant for government and centralized procurement programs.
For example, in the U.S., retired veterans represent a major demand segment. Each year, this single channel alone is worth roughly USD 200–300 million, but it requires products to be Made in America. With deeper market penetration, we believe that some mid- to high-end product lines may eventually reshore in the U.S. to capture these opportunities.
Grace Yu, 01VC:
Since we’re already talking about moving factories to the U.S., let me ask Hai Robotics: have you seriously considered setting up a global supply chain footprint? And in that process, how do you evaluate the economics of such a move?”
Li Lei, Hai Robotics:
This is a question we often discuss, and I can share some of our decisions openly. First, we have already started building a factory in Southeast Asia, which will begin production soon. Second, for certain supporting elements in warehousing — such as racks and bins — we are working with local suppliers. Third, we are also considering whether it may be necessary to set up a factory in the U.S. Looking at global consumption, the U.S. is an extremely important and large market.
That said, we will be very cautious. Overseas production comes with higher costs — including labor, management, unions, and efficiency — all of which would raise overall manufacturing expenses. It requires us to carefully recalculate the cost structure before making any decision.”
Grace Yu, 01VC:
My next question is for YESMRO. To date, the majority of our industrial products business has been concentrated in the domestic market, with overseas expansion only just beginning. In your view, is there potential for these categories of industrial products to establish and develop supply chains internationally?
Vincent Zhu, YESMRO:
My perspective can be summarized in two points. First, activities that cannot be addressed purely through communication or remote coordination should be placed overseas. Second, activities that can be effectively managed through communication can remain in China.
To elaborate: what do we mean by activities that cannot be solved through communication alone? Industrial products are manufactured according to European, U.S., or Japanese standards. But when it comes to product iteration and industrialization, we believe these require close proximity to the customer. In areas such as product management and last-mile delivery, being on the ground is essential. Without deep customer insight, simply exporting products abroad will not work.
Another example is equipment spare parts, which make up the majority of our industrial product sales. When a part breaks, customers expect immediate replacement. This also requires localized presence, not just communication from afar.
By contrast, areas that can be managed through communication — such as online customer service — can be handled from China, where we have abundant multilingual talent proficient in English, Japanese, and other languages. Manufacturing is also best kept in China, where the cost advantage remains significant. Unless tariffs rise to extreme levels, the overseas price gap compared with Chinese manufacturing still favors China in the industrial products sector
Grace Yu, 01VC:
How are customers reacting to tariffs?
Li Lei, Hai Robotics:
We are in the industrial robotics sector, so short-term tariffs do not immediately affect us. That said, supply chain shifts are beginning to take shape. Recently, we’ve seen suppliers in Brazil and Malaysia proposing joint ventures to establish local assembly plants — a trend we believe will continue. In the longer term, it’s possible that some Chinese manufacturers will also set up production facilities in the U.S., which for us would be a positive development.
Historically, including Hai Robotics’ own early international expansion, the model has often been that Chinese cross-border businesses first carried the products abroad, after which local companies adopted them and built deeper roots in those markets. For industries like robotics — which deliver high value-added solutions spanning hardware, software, and services — hardware tariffs alone do not have a major impact. China’s upstream industrial cost advantages remain so significant that even with tariffs, Chinese products still hold strong competitiveness compared with overseas alternatives.
Grace Yu, 01VC:
Tariffs seem to have been quite a boost for cross-border e-commerce warehousing companies. Now that tariff pressures have eased somewhat, what is the situation like on the ground?
Li Lei, Hai Robotics:
We primarily serve two types of clients: overseas manufacturing plants and cross-border e-commerce warehouses. I can only speak from the perspective of the customers we work with, so my view may be somewhat selective and lean more optimistic.
In cross-border e-commerce, the current U.S. tariff environment has accelerated the shift toward local warehousing. Previously, many Chinese companies shipped duty-free small parcels directly from China, but with the cancellation of T86, those shipments are now subject to tax. This has pushed Chinese cross-border players to build large-scale warehouses in the U.S. Given the high labor costs there, these facilities are being designed for full automation — a trend that directly benefits Hai Robotics. We are also seeing similar demand growth in Europe, where local warehouse construction is increasing.
On the manufacturing side, we follow leading automotive companies as they expand into different countries. At the same time, in Southeast Asia, smaller factories are also adopting automation — often with orders in the USD 1–2 million range, where just a few robots are enough to get production running. Manufacturing expansion is therefore more fragmented than logistics, but in many ways, the overseas push by Chinese manufacturers appears more predictable and sustainable.
Part Three: Closing Thoughts
Grace Yu, 01VC: In one sentence, what’s the smartest thing you did in going global?
Vincent Zhu, YESMRO:
To sum up my biggest takeaway: in any journey, the most important step is simply to start and show up
Zhang Xueyi, TUSKROBOTS:
We believe in moving only after thoughtful preparation.
Li Lei, Hai Robotics:
In short, our decision to go overseas was the right one. When we first expanded during the pandemic, there were many voices of doubt. But the fact that local customers chose to buy from an unknown Chinese brand proved the strength of China’s supply chain, its talent, its innovation, and now, its products.
Li Jianguo, Robooter:
From the start, our overseas strategy was to build brands with deeper local presence, so we focused on offline channels rather than taking the quick, online-first route. So far, this approach has proven correct. In medical devices, certification and reimbursement access take time — there are no shortcuts. We chose the slower, more resilient path, and experience has shown it was the right decision.
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