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Many Chinese SMEs start exporting from inception and therefore integrate into global value chains. The article seeks to understand the determinants of Chinese Born Globals (BGs) internationalization, given the opportunities offered by a large domestic market. From a review of the literature, we identify the main factors of the rapid internationalization of BGs, which we then compare with those of Chinese SMEs. An exploratory study of a hundred small enterprises in Zhejiang Province leads us to focus on two key factors of the rapid international development of Chinese SMEs, namely their managers and their networks. In-depth interviews conducted in four BGs selected within this sample allow us to understand the role of these two factors and to conclude on the conditions of the rapid integration of Chinese BGs into global value chains.