Southeast Asia’s New Investment Frontier: A “China+1” Strategy Seminar

The Trump administration has rolled out a reciprocal tariff regime widely dubbed “Tariff 2.0,” sharply raising duties on Chinese goods entering the United States and placing serious obstacles in the path of China’s direct exports.

The escalating US–China trade confrontation is breaking up the established order of global supply chains. Washington is targeting not only China’s direct exports but also the “made in China, trans-shipped through a third country” model — closing the door on companies routing goods through third markets to sidestep tariffs.

Against this backdrop, the Dongguan Nancheng Federation of Industry & Commerce, together with KPMG, hosted a seminar on 27 November 2025 — part of the “Double-Hundred Enablement” enterprise-support series — on Southeast Asia’s New Investment Opportunities and “China+1” Strategy Deployment Amid Intensifying Trade Tensions. CM1 GROUP was invited to participate as a contributing speaker.

Southeast Asia as the flagship “+1” region

As the most representative region for the “China+1” strategy, Southeast Asia faces a fresh set of opportunities and challenges:

• Accelerating diversification of supply-chain footprints. Chinese outbound investment is spreading from traditional hotspots toward a wider set of destinations. Countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia — which absorbed much of China’s relocated capacity early on — are now running into infrastructure bottlenecks and greater US pressure, even as they show stronger appetite for attracting Chinese investment.
• “Going out together” as the new model. Companies are shifting from scattered, individual expansion toward coordinated, supply-chain-wide relocation. Larger players are now moving abroad alongside their suppliers to build a more resilient overseas ecosystem.
• Rebalancing reliance on US exports. Southeast Asian nations will not form a united front with China — the US remains their most important export market. They are likely to stay neutral between the two, sustaining trade and economic ties with China while also complying with US requirements on supply chains.

Key topics on the agenda

To help businesses approach Southeast Asia methodically and navigate overseas-investment compliance, the seminar focused on the following themes:

• Dongguan “Double-Hundred” support: a guide to outbound tax incentives for Guangdong enterprises
• Outbound investment from Dongguan: structuring design and tax-credit implementation
• Hong Kong vs. Singapore: choosing the right go-global platform and getting compliance right
• Landing in Southeast Asia: the “1T3C” integrated solution
• Investing in Singapore: the growth key to opening up Southeast Asian markets
• Investing in Indonesia: the investment window and on-the-ground landing plan
• Investing in Vietnam: updates to Vietnam’s new corporate income tax law amid economic transition
• Vietnam’s upside and red lines: risk control and the compliance pathway
• Where to invest in Vietnam: an introduction to the Vietnam MDA industrial park

Event details

Date

Thursday, 27 November 2025

Time

14:00–17:30 · Check-in 14:00 · Keynotes 14:30 · Q&A 17:00

Venue

Conference Centre, 1F Block C, Nanxin International Industrial Park, Nancheng, Dongguan

Language

Mandarin

Speakers

• Zhong Guohua

  Tax Partner, KPMG China

• Huang Zhiwei

  Tax Partner, KPMG China (Hong Kong)

• Fang Kun

  Tax Director, KPMG Vietnam

• Ren Xinyu

  Senior Tax Manager, KPMG China

• Shan Wenrong

  Senior Partner, Xingye CPA (Singapore)

• Xue YuanCM1

  Senior Manager, Corporate Division, CM1 GROUP (Singapore)

• Liao Xiaoying

  SEA Regional Executive Director, Shanghai Guangming Law Firm