外企

• Pinyin: wài qǐ
• Hanzi breakdown: 外 = 夕 + 卜; 企 = 人 (person) + 止 (foot, standing on tiptoe) — to stand on tiptoe in anticipation, extended to mean enterprise/undertaking

Meaning

Foreign-invested enterprise; foreign company operating in China. A company funded, owned, or controlled by foreign capital.

Abbreviation of 外资企业 (wàizī qǐyè). A key concept in China's post-reform economic landscape. For much of the 1990s–2000s, working at a 外企 carried significant prestige — better pay, international exposure, and an English-language environment. Common collocations: 进外企 (join a foreign company), 外企员工 (foreign-company employee), 外企文化 (foreign corporate culture). The prestige gap has narrowed as domestic tech giants rose.

Examples

1. 她大学毕业后进了一家德国外企，工作了五年后决定自己创业。 After graduating from university, she joined a German foreign company and worked there for five years before deciding to start her own business.
2. 许多年轻人选择外企是因为其相对规范的管理体系和有竞争力的薪酬待遇。 Many young people choose foreign companies for their relatively standardised management systems and competitive salaries.
3. 近年来国内大厂的待遇已经不输外企，很多人开始转向优质的本土企业。 In recent years, compensation packages at major domestic companies have become comparable to foreign firms, and many people are shifting toward high-quality local employers.

Usage Guide

Context: business, career, economics, everyday

Tone: matter-of-fact

Do Say

• 他在外企做了十年，积累了丰富的跨国项目管理经验。(He spent ten years at a foreign company and built up extensive experience in cross-border project management.)
• 外企的工作节奏普遍较快，对英语能力的要求也相对较高。(The pace of work at foreign companies is generally fast, and the English requirements are relatively high.)

Don't Say

• 把外企和合资企业等同 (外企 often refers to wholly foreign-owned enterprises; 合资企业 = joint venture with a Chinese partner — a distinct legal category)

Origin & History

Abbreviation of 外资企业 (foreign-capital enterprise). 外 = foreign/external, 资 = capital/funds (dropped in the abbreviation), 企 = enterprise/company.

Cultural Context

Era: Post-reform era (1980s–present)

Generation: All ages

Social background: Urban professional