"China simply cannot buy up the world," says Alistair Michie, who works for strategic consultancy NICG. He has also advised the China State Administration for Foreign Experts Affairs, China Daily reported.
For Michie, the portrayal of Chinese firms buying up the world is not true or even remotely feasible.
"It creates a false impression," he says.
"Chinese money in terms of the country's GDP, or its government reserves, is only a tiny portion of the wealth in North America or Europe."
The solution he offers is that companies must be humble, while flexible enough to quickly adapt to shifts in global markets.
China's growing economy is a testament to its rising development over the past 30 years, but Michie contends that China must employ a number of people to sustain the country's improvement. He also mentions of hiring competent people with international experience to lead its Belt and Road initiative at an operational level.
Thus, Michie sees China's development of its international profile while at the same time learning from other countries. Another aspect of it is that many other companies, despite their expansion abroad, had yet to focus on learning English or their host countries' languages, and had not built trust with the local elites.
According to Michie, China's growing economic ties with the world are a natural offshoot of its reform and development over the past 30 years. Some mergers and acquisitions, he said, are perceived or presented as having political significance when in actuality they are nothing more than business deals.
For him, the idea that China is buying up the world "is not real" and by the same token, owning a factory in a foreign land can only be the beginning for Chinese firms looking to do business in an international environment.
There is still much to be learned about the local market and laws, culture and people, Michie said.
Overall, he believes that companies must be humble and quick to adapt to local realities; few companies he knew of exhibited these traits.