The China Analyst is an in-house publication of The Beijing Axis for executives with a China agenda. As China’s top leaders prepare to discuss major policies on the country’s reform agenda during the upcoming plenary session of the 18th Central Committee in November, China watchers are cautiously optimistic that President Xi Jinping and his leadership team will push through long anticipated reforms needed to ensure China continues on its long-term growth trajectory. One of the dynamic issues to watch against this backdrop will be the success (or failure) of Chinese firms in being able to crack into developed markets. The fruits of globalisation will no longer accrue solely to rich-world businesses as increasingly competitive emerging-market products and services win over consumers in the West. In the coming years, Chinese car manufacturers will continue their efforts to break into European markets, Chinese real estate firms will be looking to diversify their asset portfolios into more stable but still revenue-generating economies, and Chinese construction and IT firms will continue searching for new growth opportunities outside their home markets, all of which will redefine competitive lines across industries and borders. In the September 2013 edition of The China Analyst, we outline the implications of China’s growing footprint in the developed world as the country enters a new era in its on-going transformation. This edition includes the following lead articles: 1. China’s Increased Presence in the Developed World 2. The Growing Global Influence of Chinese Consumers 3. China’s Transformation: Implications for Global Supply Chains Our Macroeconomic Monitor section focuses on the challenges China must overcome to ensure the country’s path towards more moderate and sustainable growth, while our Strategy section illustrates global trading patterns between China and its leading commodity suppliers and also includes a profile of MCC, China’s leading metallurgical engineering and construction contractor. These complement other regular sections such as: Investment, where we analyse China's overseas resource investments; BRIICS, a macroeconomic comparison of the world's six major emerging economies; and four Regional Focus sections with analyses of the latest China-related trade and investment activities in Africa, Australia, Latin America and Russia.