When He Shiyou founded Baseus to manufacture power banks in Shenzhen 11 years ago, Europe seemed like a distant dream.
But this month, the chief executive appeared at IFA Berlin, Europe’s biggest consumer electronics trade show, to launch headphones and earbuds to a global audience. The company also makes car vacuum cleaners.
“The fierce competition in Shenzhen is a reason why we are looking overseas,” He said, adding that scaling up globally was essential to strengthening its supply chain and boosting investment in R&D. “In hindsight, I wish we had started five years earlier.”
Baseus’ move reflects a trend in China, where weak consumer demand and excess manufacturing capacity have resulted in intense price competition. This has left many companies struggling to generate profits and, in some cases, slipping into deep losses.
“For Chinese manufacturers, one of the few ways to make profits is by going overseas,” said Cameron Johnson, senior partner at Shanghai-based consultancy Tidalwave Solutions. “If you are not, chances are you won’t have much business—because if you don’t, your competitor will.”
Three years ago, Baseus began building a dedicated team to take its gadgets abroad. It now has around 2% of the global smart personal audio market, according to tech researcher Canalys, behind leading Chinese rival Xiaomi at 4.9% in the fourth quarter last year.
According to Baseus, overseas sales account for 45% of its business, with Europe the largest market.
“The US and Germany sit at the very top of our agenda when it comes to investment in market development and branding,” He said. “Both markets have large consumer bases and strong growth potential.”
To stand out from a crowded field of Chinese rivals such as QCY and Anker, and to win over consumers in Europe, Baseus has turned to partnerships with established global brands to differentiate itself. Chinese manufacturers tend to compete only on price and some of Baseus’ rivals have struggled to evolve beyond serving as a manufacturer for Western companies.
“This transition demands cultural fluency, brand narrative sophistication and the ability to command premium positioning in markets increasingly skeptical of Chinese corporate ambitions,” said Afra Wang, a tech analyst based in California and writer for the Concurrent newsletter. “[Baseus’] success will likely determine whether Chinese consumer brands achieve sustained global influence.”
At IFA Berlin, Baseus launched the Inspire series, a line of headphones and earbuds aimed at younger consumers and developed in collaboration with three partners—US audio specialist Bose, specialty tech parts manufacturer Knowles, and German audio tech producer Mimi.
Inspire earbuds are sold at around EUR 10 (USD 11.7) below Bose’s cheapest earbuds on Amazon in Germany, but they are considerably more expensive than other Chinese brands.
“Partnering with Bose pushes Baseus into the higher end,” said Jack Leathem, an analyst at Canalys. “It reflects a step-by-step move to build credibility in the mid-to-high tier while maintaining its value-driven positioning.”
Tidalwave’s Johnson said the scale and sophistication of Chinese production remain attractive for international brands, given these companies’ investment in manufacturing technology and machinery.
Indeed, Bose sees the Baseus partnership as an opportunity to broaden its reach. “We’re helping enhance everyday listening for their customers and delivering the incredible power of Bose audio to an even wider audience,” said Nick Smith, Bose’s president of audio technology and chief strategy officer.
Still, Chinese manufacturers face challenges in trying to penetrate Europe and the UK, where product safety standards are high. Baseus said last year on its website that two of its wireless power banks were recalled in the EU and the UK because they posed a fire risk, with the British government saying that the devices did not meet local safety regulations.
On a wider level, the European Union is highly concerned about its trade imbalance with China and is suspicious of Chinese technology, which it sees as a security threat.
Washington’s trade war with China has heightened EU concerns that Chinese manufacturers will turn to Europe to dump their excess capacities. So far, though, Chinese consumer electronics have come under less regulatory scrutiny than sensitive sectors such as semiconductors or electric vehicles.
“Policymakers generally view collaboration in this sector more favorably, as it falls outside critical industries,” said Alexander Brown, senior analyst at the Berlin-based think tank Mercator Institute for China Studies. He cited the EUR 1 billion (USD 1.2 billion) worth of Chinese investments made in consumer products and services in the EU and UK over 2024.
However, Brown said that as Chinese companies rise up the value chain, concerns around cybersecurity and economic competitiveness may lead to greater scrutiny.
But for He, Europe is now ripe for the taking.
“Particularly in key markets such as Poland, Spain and Germany, our goals are very clear: we are aiming to take the number one position in these markets,” He said.
This article first appeared on Nikkei Asia. It has been republished here as part of 36Kr’s ongoing partnership with Nikkei.