How can EU SMEs in China and South-East Asia and Latin-America Take Advantage of the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)?

Patents registered in Europe, being territorial rights, have no legal effect in China and any of the countries in South-east Asia and Latin America. However, through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT) it is possible to seek simultaneous patent protection for an invention in several countries by filing a single “international” patent application instead of filing separate national applications.