Living in multiple locations across Asia for almost 15 years, currently in Taiwan and Hong Kong. Supporting manufacturers and brand owners wanting to access the markets of Greater China. Managed market entry for large global FMCG brand to China end-to-end.
Director Tienli Group (Hong Kong, Taiwan). M&A Projects Europe to China. Formerly Global Informatics Management Team Roche (Switzerland and APAC). Product-Specialist, lecturer and author.
This depends on the nature of your business, the requirements on how to develop it and on the locations involved.
I'm not aware of your case, but I'd suggest that you are starting in a familiar environment (UK?) and then work remotely from anywhere in the world. This means lesser risks (language, regulatory framework, support...). Of course working remotely becomes rather challenging if you are running a "nuts & bolts" operations like a restaurant or a logistics company.
You can then establish a presence outside the UK in a 2nd step, to expand your network but also to show commitment to that new market. Furthermore: depending on where you go, having a "home base" in the UK can be leveraged as an advantage.
Although in China, social media channels like WeChat or Weibo are paramount for brand promotion, a traditional brand web presence is still important. Especially for established brands outside China, a brand's website is seen as a "business card" and always contributes positively to a validation process done by Chinese B2B sales networks.