China’s proactive support for global supply chain collaboration is set to boost both domestic and international businesses’ digital and eco-friendly transformations, fostering innovation and partnerships among a diverse array of stakeholders, according to a report unveiled in Beijing.
The report, centered around supply chains, also emphasized that continuous improvements in trade and investment facilitation, combined with liberalization efforts, are essential for ensuring the steady and efficient operation of global supply chains.
This study was presented by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade during the inaugural China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing, running from Tuesday to Saturday.
As Western nations elevate the competition in global supply chains from micro-business to a national strategic level, China has continually refined its supply chain strategy to maintain its competitiveness, as per the report.
Speaking at an expo forum, Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the CCPIT, reiterated China’s commitment to ensuring the seamless operation of industrial and supply chains. The nation has excelled as a manufacturing powerhouse by securing the stability of global industrial and supply chains, leveraging its manufacturing strengths, expanding its vast market, and embracing high levels of openness.
Long Guoqiang, Vice-President of the Development Research Center of the State Council, concurred, highlighting that enhancing the functioning of global supply chains has become a focal point of strategic initiatives pursued by businesses and governments worldwide.
Despite the widespread emphasis on supply chain resilience resonating across industries and economies, a noticeable gap has emerged – a lack of coordinated efforts to ensure that restructuring endeavors result in a truly robust, resilient, and efficient global supply chain network, he noted.
Echoing this sentiment, Sun Xiao, Secretary-General of the China Chamber of International Commerce, underlined the importance of the CISCE as a demonstration of China’s commitment to stabilizing and strengthening the global supply chain, countering Western calls for “de-risking,” a term synonymous with “decoupling” from China.
Sun emphasized that the extensive participation of global companies like GE HealthCare, A.P. Moller-Maersk, and Exxon-Mobil in the expo signifies their eagerness to deepen connections with China, explore business opportunities through China’s openness, and reject calls for “decoupling.”
Foreign companies seem to share this stance, with data from the Ministry of Commerce showing a 32 percent year-on-year increase in the number of newly established foreign-invested enterprises in China between January and October.
Liu Hongsheng, President of Syngenta Group China, a seeds and pesticides manufacturer, highlighted China’s extensive consumer base as a significant market opportunity for agricultural products, positioning the nation as a key player in the global agricultural supply chain.
Liu stated, “Leveraging our global agribusiness strengths, we are actively exploring and implementing the agriculture value chain model worldwide. Through robust global supply chain and trade activities, we connect the substantial demand in the Chinese market with global suppliers and farmers.”
CrimsonLogic Pte Ltd, a Singapore-based digital trade solutions provider, expressed plans to expand its investment in the Chinese market, bolster its local team’s capabilities, and enhance customer service to deepen collaboration with local governments and business partners in China, according to Ng Chee Keong, the company’s Vice-President for North-East, Central, and Southeast Asia and General Manager of its China unit.
He noted, “China has played a key role in trade and infrastructure development in member economies of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations through the tangible growth of the Belt and Road Initiative, further deepening economic, cultural, trade, and other exchanges between the two sides. We are seeing more growth opportunities arising from it.”
