The paper assesses the transformation of the Chinese business community in Portugal in result of the interaction between China’s ‘Go Global’ policy and the impact of the 2008/2009 global crisis. It analyses the small-business community’s coping strategies; the impact of recent large-scale Chinese direct investments; and changes to Portuguese immigration laws. It concludes that the small-business community adopted pro-active coping strategies and re-assessed its insertion patterns in the local and global economy. Within the large-scale business segment, a dualistic community structure emerged. The community became more heterogeneous and complex, less cohesive, and more internationalised beyond the single European market.