Chinese firms have been listing overseas for more than 30 years, We take Chinese firms listed in only one of the offshore capital markets of the U.S., Hong Kong, and Singapore from 2001 to 2022 as our research subjects, and based on the linear regression model (OLS) and the PSM method, the main findings are as follows: (1) Separately offshore listing significantly increases the level of cash holdings of Chinese firms; (2) Separately listing in U.S. significantly increases the level of cash holdings of Chinese firms to a greater extent than in Hong Kong, and separately listing in Singapore has no significant effect on the level of cash holdings of Chinese firms; (3) Type I and Type II agency problems as well as information asymmetry problems are significantly aggravated by separately listing in the US for Chinese firms. The aggravation of agency conflicts is the main mechanism by which listing separately in the US increases the level of cash holdings of the firms; (4) Chinese firms listing in Hong Kong only are less effective in raising capital and are more likely to increase their cash holdings for precautionary motives; and (5) economic uncertainty will strengthen the effect of a separate foreign listing in increasing the level of cash holdings of Chinese firms.