This introduction paper for our special issue on Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) situates the important theme of CMNE growth within the context of rapid technological innovation, intensified geopolitical tensions, and trade wars in the global business environment of the mid-2020s. Using this context as a backdrop, we discuss the growth of CMNEs to derive implications for international business (IB) theory. We review key theoretical perspectives that inform prior research on CMNEs and outline the key challenges confronting CMNEs’ international expansion, as gauged against prior research. We summarize key theoretical insights from the eight papers included in this special issue. We then illustrate how future research can be informed by an explicit consideration of the international sanctions and geopolitical tensions in which CMNEs operate, as well as by the growing technological, linguistic, and ideological distance between China and European and North American countries, which influences CMNEs’ international strategies. We conclude by noting that at this critical juncture in CMNEs’ development, there are substantial opportunities for the IB community to broaden research and challenge existing theories by capturing the latest trends in the international expansion of CMNEs.

作为本期关于中国跨国企业(CMNEs) 特刊的导论文章, 本文将中国跨国企业的成长置于21世纪20年代中期全球商业环境的背景之中。该环境以快速的技术创新、不断加剧的地缘政治紧张局势以及贸易战为主要特征。本文首先回顾以往研究中用于解释中国跨国企业的主要理论视角, 并结合既有研究评估其国际化扩张所面临的关键挑战。接着,作者介绍本期特刊所收录八篇论文的核心理论贡献,并鼓励未来研究应更加明确地关注中国跨国企业所处的国际制裁与地缘政治紧张环境, 关注中国与欧洲、北美国家之间不断扩大的技术、语言与意识形态距离, 以及这些因素将如何深刻影响中国跨国企业的国际战略。本文最后指出, 在中国跨国企业发展所处的关键节点上, 国际商务研究学者拥有重要机遇, 通过把握其国际扩张中的最新趋势, 来拓展研究边界并挑战既有理论。