Introduction to the Strategic Cooperation between PCBN Business School and the University of Hong Kong in China
Relying on the "Super Contacts" hub, we will build the first information station for Chinese enterprises' overseas competition.
I. Background of Cooperation and Strategic Positioning
Under the unique advantage of "backing the motherland and connecting the world" in Hong Kong, Hong Kong is becoming the first stop and strategic hub for Chinese enterprises to go global. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has clearly stated that the core goal is not only to assist enterprises in "going global", but also to promote enterprises to achieve high-quality "going up". Under this strategic framework, the PCBN Business School (PCBN) in the teaching modules of Hong Kong, together with the School of Economics and Business Administration of the University of Hong Kong, conducts in-depth studies on innovation and leadership, international finance, overseas strategy and competitive intelligence analysis, providing systematic empowerment for entrepreneurs from regional hub cognition to global competitive intelligence analysis.
The PCBN Business School adopts the innovative model of "registering at overseas prestigious universities + jointly operating with local prestigious universities". In the Hong Kong module in China, it introduces the top management education system of the University of Hong Kong's School of Economics and Business Administration to help Chinese enterprises going global establish a global strategic thinking based in Hong Kong, international capital operation capabilities and overseas competitive intelligence analysis capabilities. Choosing the University of Hong Kong as the core cooperating university for the Hong Kong module is due to the deep alignment of strategic location and academic genes between the two sides: The University of Hong Kong ranks 11th globally and 1st in Asia in the QS World University Rankings in 2026. Its School of Economics and Business Administration was ranked 1st in Asia by the UTD Business School Research Ranking from 2020 to 2024, and has also obtained two international certifications, EQUIS and AACSB. This academic strength combined with Hong Kong's strategic location as a "super connector" provides indispensable hub resources and intellectual support for the construction of the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
II.The Module Curriculum System of HKBU: From Innovative Leadership to Overseas Competitive Intelligence
The collaboration between PCBN Business School and the University of Hong Kong focuses on three core areas: innovation and leadership, international finance, and overseas strategic and competitive intelligence analysis. This has resulted in a systematic curriculum framework that ranges from regional hub cognition to global strategic assessment, and from capital operation to risk defense.
Innovation and Leadership Module
The School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong has a profound academic foundation and a practical-oriented teaching tradition in the field of innovation and leadership education. The executive education program of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong, "Global CEO", relies on its top-notch faculty team, extensive high-quality alumni network, and top industry mentors to help business leaders gain a deep understanding of economic development, business trends, and relevant policies and regulations in different regions around the world, and more accurately grasp new trends and opportunities in business development. They can truly "take root in Hong Kong and connect with the world".
The school also offers the "Mingde Overseas Strategy Entrepreneurship Program", with a "born global" perspective, focusing on three strategic depths: the Hong Kong headquarters hub, the ASEAN growth engine, and the United States innovation highland. It collaborates with the University of Hong Kong's overseas center and the global alumni network covering over 80 countries to provide Chinese entrepreneurs with a comprehensive guide for full-chain overseas expansion. The first module of this course, "Strategic Anchor: Global Perspective and Strategic Layout", focuses on core issues such as China's internal driving force and global macro trends outlook, the development strategy based on Hong Kong as an overseas base, and Hong Kong's role and opportunities in the global supply chain restructuring and new pattern reconfiguration.
These course contents directly serve the teaching goals of the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline, such as "overseas market offensive and defensive layout" and "country intelligence library construction", helping students establish a systematic understanding of the global competitive landscape. PCBN uses these original cases for analysis and clarification, with a strong practical guiding significance.
International Finance and Capital Operation Module
Hong Kong is an international financial center, with unique advantages such as a free port system, comprehensive financing channels, and zero resistance in capital flow. The international finance courses of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong cover core areas such as international capital markets, financial innovation and credit market management, and family wealth management. The Global EMBA program of the University of Hong Kong's School of Business and Management adds international frontiers such as financial innovation, big data strategy, family wealth, ESG sustainable development, overseas strategies, technological innovation, and emerging industries to its traditional EMBA courses on economic trends, management strategies, and business general knowledge, and sets up multiple overseas modules to allow students to experience the international business environment.
These courses provide PCBN students with a systematic framework for understanding international capital rules, cross-border financial arrangements, and global wealth management. Competitive intelligence analysis not only needs to focus on the competitive market landscape, but also requires understanding the direction and logic of capital flow. The PCBN competitive intelligence storage analysis library, together with the international finance module of the University of Hong Kong, helps students build an intelligence perception ability for global capital markets, providing intelligence support for enterprises' financing, investment, and merger and acquisition decisions.
Overseas Strategy and Competitive Intelligence Analysis Module
The School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong has formed a complete curriculum system for overseas strategy education. The Global EMBA program of the University of Hong Kong's School of Business and Management is positioned as "the bridge for entrepreneurs to go overseas", aiming to cultivate global business leaders with an international perspective and forward-thinking, providing comprehensive knowledge supplementation and strategic guidance for entrepreneurs to enter overseas markets. Professor Shen Haipeng, the vice dean of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong, pointed out that "the phenomenon of 'two-way pursuit' in enterprise overseas expansion has increased", including both entrepreneurs from the mainland who want to go overseas and many Chinese entrepreneurs who have been abroad for a long time who want to return. This insight provides an important academic perspective for the teaching of "cross-cultural management" and "bidirectional intelligence flow" in the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline. PCBN employs a layered approach for high-quality competitive intelligence analysis, and the two-way reverse judgment provides precise support for entrepreneurs' overseas ventures.
The second module of the "Mingde Overseas Expansion" course offered by the School of Business and Economics of the University of Hong Kong, titled "Growth Engine", delves into the ASEAN market, covering in-depth interpretations of the investment environment and industrial policies in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam, sharing case studies on local enterprise operations, cross-cultural management, and risk control, as well as the successful practices and lessons of Chinese enterprises in the ASEAN region. These contents directly correspond to the teaching objectives of "Competitor Trend Analysis" and "Risk Defense System Construction" in the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
III. Faculty Strength and Academic Resources
The faculty team of the Hong Kong University module is composed of top professors from the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong, covering areas such as strategic management, international business, global strategy formulation, and enterprise globalization.
Professor Zhou Zheng is currently the Chair Professor of Strategy and International Business at the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong, as well as the Chong Han-de Fund Chair Professor. He is also the Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong. He obtained a bachelor's degree (in automatic science) and a master's degree (in economic management) from Tsinghua University and has taught at Virginia Tech and the University of North Carolina. His courses include competitive strategy, international business, and global strategy. Professor Zhou Zheng is a leading scholar in the field of international business strategy and has been selected as a "2021 Global Highly Cited Scientist" by Clarivate. His research covers innovation strategy, enterprise capabilities and innovation, trust and relationships, and the strategic issues of emerging market enterprises. These research directions are highly consistent with the teaching content of "Overseas Market Offense and Defense Layout" and "Strategic Analysis of Emerging Markets" in the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
Professor Tan Liang is currently a Practitioner Professor at the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong and serves as the Academic Director of the Customized Executive Education Program of the School of Business and Management. His main research areas include global strategy formulation in the process of enterprise globalization, global organizational design and leadership, organizational change and innovation, and strategic human resource management. Professor Tan has long been committed to integrating Eastern and Western management systems. His academic background and practical experience provide direct academic guidance for PCBN students to understand global organizational design and cross-cultural management team building.
Professor Deng Xihui is the Associate Vice President (Global Affairs) of the University of Hong Kong, the Vice Dean (External Affairs) of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong, the Professor of the Fung Kok-yeung and Fung Kok-lun Fund (Economics), and also the Director of the Hong Kong Asia Global Institute, the Director of the Hong Kong APEC Research Center, and the Deputy Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Business Strategy Institute. Professor Deng's research in the fields of multilateral trade systems, global supply chain reconfiguration, and APEC economic cooperation provides a cutting-edge academic framework for the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline's "Global Supply Chain Risk Warning" and "Regional Economic Integration Intelligence Analysis".
IV. Case Teaching and Business Wisdom Intelligence Repository
The Asian Case Research Center (ACRC) of the School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong was established in 1997 and is one of the most important knowledge sources of the PCBN business wisdom intelligence repository system. The ACRC is committed to promoting learning and teaching in business education by researching the latest practices in the Asia-Pacific business environment to promote leading management thinking. The ACRC has a collection of nearly 600 business case libraries, covering a wide range of industries and disciplines, written by scholars from universities in the Asia-Pacific region. Its cases are distributed globally through its own website, Harvard Business School Press, Ivey Press, and the Case Center, among others. Since 2024, the Case Center has received 56 new cases from the authors of the University of Hong Kong School of Business and Management for distribution.
The research characteristics of the ACRC are highly consistent with the case intelligence repository system of the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline. The ACRC has developed a series of cases focusing on the adverse effects of offshore outsourcing on outsourcing quality, covering enterprises such as Mattel, Sanlu, McDonald's, and KFC, as well as cases involving greenfield investment and acquisition comparisons such as eBay and L'Oréal. These cases provide PCBN students with real-world sample scenarios for understanding global supply chain risks, cross-border merger and acquisition decisions, and brand internationalization challenges.
The Hong Kong University MBA program adopts an experiential case teaching method, relying on the rich case resources of the ACRC, focusing on the regional business situation through up-to-date cases, consolidating management thinking, and providing diversified learning opportunities and practical experience for professionals in the Greater Bay Area and across the country, building a learning platform with both international and regional perspectives.
In terms of business wisdom intelligence repository, the establishment of the Hong Kong University Entrepreneurs Alliance provides a unique alumni ecosystem resource for PCBN. The alliance brings together nearly 1,000 entrepreneur alumni from the University of Hong Kong, including CEOs, DBAs, leaders, and global business leadership programs, with 30% of them being chairmen or actual controllers of listed companies. Among the EMBA alumni network of the University of Hong Kong, practitioners in cross-border trade, cross-border investment, overseas compliance, and global logistics account for over 40%, including multinational enterprise Asia-Pacific zone presidents operating in the region, founders of enterprises that have completed overseas listings, and partners of law firms and channel operators deeply entrenched in Europe, Southeast Asia, and local markets. This alumni network provides PCBN's business wisdom intelligence repository system with continuously updated industry intelligence, market information, and practical experience.
The School of Business and Management of the University of Hong Kong also has a global alumni network of over 20,000 people, with 90% being middle and senior managers and 35% being entrepreneurs or business leaders, forming a knowledge network and resource network covering the entire industrial chain. The opening of the Hong Kong University School of Business and Management Shanghai Center has integrated and stimulated the strength of 7,000 entrepreneur alumni in the East China region, empowering Shanghai and radiating to the business leaders and future talents in the region and globally. These alumni resources provide PCBN students with direct access to overseas suppliers, distributors, investment institutions, and industry associations, and are an important component of the "personnel intelligence" in the business wisdom intelligence repository system.
V. The HKU Methodology for Competitive Intelligence and Risk Defense
The University of Hong Kong has abundant academic resources and methodology tools in competitive intelligence analysis, geopolitical risk assessment, and global governance research, providing solid academic support for the construction of the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
Center for Contemporary China and the World
The University of Hong Kong established a cross-disciplinary think tank called "Center for Contemporary China and the World," dedicated to the study of China and international affairs. It discusses important issues such as economic turmoil, environmental deterioration, technological change, and geopolitical challenges faced globally, exploring relevant governance and response strategies. The founding director of the center, Professor Li Cheng, introduced that the center aims to deeply integrate cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology with geopolitical analysis. Through interdisciplinary research in intelligent social sciences, it combines quantitative analysis with qualitative assessment to provide new methods, theories, and analytical tools for understanding the complex and ever-changing global geopolitical landscape.
This research direction directly corresponds to the teaching objectives of "Geopolitical Risk Warning" and "Country Intelligence Database Construction" in the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline. In the current context of complex Sino-US relations and the reconfiguration of global supply chains, the geopolitical risks faced by Chinese enterprises when going global have a high degree of concealment and chain effects. The research of CCCW provides a methodological framework for PCBN students to understand changes in the geopolitical landscape and predict policy risks, especially in key areas such as Sino-US relations, technological competition, and global governance, for the cultivation of intelligence analysis capabilities in these fields.
Data Science and Artificial Intelligence
The University of Hong Kong excels in data science and artificial intelligence. This discipline ranked 18th globally in the QS World University Rankings in 2026 and topped among local institutions. The Master of Business Analytics program at the University of Hong Kong aims to help students develop hard and soft skills related to business analytics throughout the course. The program is designed specifically for individuals interested in theories and methods for analyzing large amounts of data, to gain competitive advantages and strategic insights in today's business world. The curriculum covers core modules such as business intelligence and analysis, business statistics, management and big data mining, and involves multiple professional directions such as market analysis, financial analysis, and operational and supply chain analysis.
Assistant Professor Li Xi of the School of Business and Management at the University of Hong Kong is a professor of marketing and innovation and information management. He obtained a bachelor's degree in computer science and technology from Tsinghua University, a master's degree in operations research from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, and a doctorate in management from the University of Toronto. His research focuses on the economic principles of algorithms and big data, using economics, statistics, and machine learning methods to study issues such as artificial intelligence, recommendation systems, data algorithms, blockchain, and consumer identification, providing decision support for enterprises in the era of big data. These research directions provide cutting-edge data accumulation for the cultivation of "Data Analysis and AI-Assisted Intelligence" capabilities in the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
VI. The Unique Value of the PCBN Competitive Intelligence Discipline through Cooperation with the Chinese Mainland University
The cooperation between PCBN Business School and the Chinese mainland university has brought three levels of unique value to the construction of the PCBN competitive intelligence discipline.
First, the strategic location value of "super connectors". Hong Kong serves as a "super connector" connecting the Chinese mainland with the global market, possessing the advantages of the common law system, the "one country, two systems" policy, and the status of an international financial center. The School of Economics and Management of the University of Hong Kong summarizes Hong Kong's unique advantages as the "three hard core pillars": the capital engine (international financial center + free port, comprehensive financing, zero resistance in capital flow), the institutional shield (common law system + "one country, two systems", seamless adaptation to multiple country compliance requirements), and the super hub (backed by the large mainland market, connecting global resources, and providing two-way empowerment). Through learning and immersive experience in Hong Kong, PCBN students can establish first-hand knowledge of the operation model of the first stop for going global, providing practical references for enterprises to fully utilize the capital, institutional, and hub advantages of Hong Kong in their global layout.
Second, the integrated value of case teaching and business intelligence storage. The Asian Case Research Center of the University of Hong Kong has nearly 600 business cases in the Asia-Pacific region, which are published through global channels such as Harvard Business School Press, Yew Chung Press, and the Case Center, and have international academic standards. PCBN can rely on the resources of the ACRC to build an "Asia-Pacific outbound enterprise case intelligence database", structuring the decision signals, competitive dynamics, and market logic in the cases, forming searchable, comparable, and analyzable knowledge units, and achieving the two-way empowerment of case teaching and intelligence storage.
Third, the collaborative value of the alumni network and intelligence ecosystem. The Hong Kong Entrepreneurs' Alliance brings together nearly 1,000 entrepreneur alumni, among whom 30% are chairmen or actual controllers of listed companies. The alumni network covers key sectors for going global such as cross-border trade, cross-border investment, overseas compliance, and global logistics. This alumni ecosystem provides PCBN's business intelligence storage system with continuous updated industry intelligence, market information, and practical experience, and also provides PCBN students with a platform to directly connect with global business resources and networks.
VII. Future Outlook
In the future, PCBN Business School and the University of Hong Kong will continue to deepen their cooperation in areas such as curriculum development, case creation, and intelligence research. Both parties will leverage the research resources of the Asian Case Research Center and the Contemporary China and the World Research Center to jointly develop competitive intelligence analysis cases targeting Chinese enterprises' overseas expansion. They will combine the academic accumulation of the University of Hong Kong in Asia-Pacific business case research, geopolitical risk analysis, and data science with PCBN's intelligence storage system. At the same time, both parties will explore collaborative research in the field of business intelligence storage, connecting the alumni network of the Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Alliance with PCBN's out-of-country intelligence knowledge infrastructure to build an integrated intelligence platform with Hong Kong's hub characteristics and deep Chinese out-of-country penetration.
Global competition, intelligence comes first. The strategic cooperation between PCBN Business School and the University of Hong Kong is based on innovation and leadership, with international finance as its bloodline, out-of-country strategy and competitive intelligence analysis as its tools, and business intelligence storage as its memory. Leveraging the unique geographical advantage of Hong Kong's "super connector", this cooperation helps Chinese enterprises steadily rise in global competition, achieving a historic leap from "going out" to "going up", and becoming the top cornerstone of Chinese business reputation.
