Along with the promotion of global standardization and the increasing varieties among overseas market participants, international technical standards (ITS) gradually become the primary benchmark for consumers to identify and select products.Currently, the key task for the high-quality development of Chinese enterprises in overseas markets is to explore the driving forces of their overseas market expansion from the perspective of ITS and then optimize the corresponding competitive strategies.It has been pointed out in relevant studies that the enterprises that have participated in the ITS establishment are more capable of realizing network effects, expanding patent benefits, and shaping corporate images, which demonstrates the importance of estimating the performance differences in the overseas market from the perspective of ITS establishment.Moreover, participation in the ITS establishment is the core to determining whether enterprises can integrate into the operation of ITS and provides guidance for strategy selection and behavior adjustment in the overseas market expansion.Therefore, this paper regards ITS as a new driving force for Chinese enterprises to expand overseas markets and clarifies the significant effects of participation in the ITS establishment on the enterprises’ performance in overseas markets, which provides a reference for Chinese enterprises in the integration of the ITS establishment and overseas market expansion and the enhancement of global competitiveness.#br#Drawing on the panel data of China A-share listed companies participating in the ITS establishment from 2012 to 2020, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of ITS participation on the performance of enterprises in overseas markets.To strengthen the breadth and representativeness of the sample, this paper selects the enterprises participating in the ITS establishment in the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) as the research objects.ISO and IEC are responsible for international standardization activities in most fields in the world such that they have a deep connection with the performance of enterprises in overseas markets.The list of Chinese institutions that participated in the ITS establishment of ISO and IEC from 2012 to 2020 is obtained from the National Standards Committee, and matched with the basic data and financial data of enterprises from Flush Database and CSMAR Database.According to the enterprise's ITS establishment and overseas market performance data, the theoretical hypothesis is tested by propensity score matching, multi-period double difference method, and Heckman's two-stage model.#br#The main conclusions are drawn from three aspects.(1) Participation in the ITS establishment has a positive impact on enhancing the depth of overseas markets for enterprises.(2) Compared with following the ITS establishment, leading the ITS establishment extends the depth of overseas markets for enterprises.(3) Compared with leading the ITS establishment, following the ITS establishment expands the breadth of overseas markets for enterprises.The conclusion deepens the theoretical explanation of technical standards internationalization and broadens the research view of the relationship between the ITS establishment and the performance of enterprises in overseas markets.Moreover, it provides useful inspiration for the internationalization of technical standards of Chinese enterprises and the adjustment of overseas market strategies.First, enterprises focusing on overseas market business development should actively participate in the formulation of ITS and strive to enhance the legitimacy of integrating into the formulation of ITS.Second, enterprises that are devoted to developing specific overseas markets need to pay particular attention to obtaining the leading position in the formulation of ITS.On the one hand, they should establish a standard construction framework centered on their own technological operations, and make technology transformation models and diverse knowledge fusion systems suitable for enterprises to lead the formulation of ITS.On the other hand, for enterprises that lead the formulation of ITS, it is essential to optimize the competitive environment by formulating patent licensing strategies that are suitable for the development stage of overseas market business, and make a product life cycle model with a focus on enterprise patents.Finally, enterprises need to adopt reasonable strategies following international technical standards in order to achieve the leading position in the formulation of ITS.#br#