China remains committed to global supply chain stability, innovation

This photo taken on Nov. 26, 2023 shows the venue of the China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China. [Xinhua/Ren Chao]

BEIJING -- China will continue to maintain the stability of global industrial and supply chains while enhancing cooperation in technological innovation, according to a major Chinese expo focusing on supply chains.

Officials, experts and industry insiders gathered at the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), the world's first supply chain expo at a national level, which is being held in Beijing from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.

During the opening ceremony of the expo, industrial and commercial representatives launched the Beijing Initiative for the Connectivity of Industrial and Supply Chains, calling for maintaining the stability and smooth flows of global industrial and supply chains.

MAINTAINING STABILITY

Speaking ahead of the event, Ren Hongbin, president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), said that China is firmly committed to upholding the public good aspect of industrial and supply chains to fully support multilateralism.

He noted that a new wave of scientific, technological and industrial transformation is imminent, and this will require major adjustments in the global innovation landscape and economic structure.

China will continue to improve the industrial system to provide strong support for the operation of global industrial and supply chains, he said.

China's manufacturing industry scale has ranked top in the world for 13 consecutive years, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the global total, according to data released by the CCPIT. This massive manufacturing industry leads to relatively low costs and high efficiency in producing various products.

"The Chinese market plays a crucial role in the global industry supply chain," said Stefan Hartung, chairman of the board of management of Robert Bosch GmbH, in his video address at the CISCE's opening ceremony, adding that the company sees the CISCE platform as serving to facilitate closer collaboration, greater resilience and a more secure supply chain.

INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT

In recent years, China has witnessed rapid development in industrial and supply chains related to clean energy and new energy vehicles, presenting great potential for cooperation, according to industry insiders at the CISCE.

"China's huge market demand, characterized by customization and fast delivery, is constantly pushing forward innovations in its supply chains," said Xiong Meng, executive vice president of the China Federation of Industrial Economics.

China hosted 75 percent of all battery cell manufacturing capacity and 90 percent of anode and electrolyte production, according to data published by research organization BloombergNEF last year, while China will hold over 80 percent of global solar product manufacturing capacity from 2023 to 2026, a recent forecast by energy research firm Wood Mackenzie showed.

Tomasz Szypula, president of Poland's National Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises, said that China is one of the best markets when it comes to clean energy and that Polish companies would like to cooperate with China in clean energy technologies, such as energy storage plants, biomass electricity generation, and wind farms.

"New energy is China's most internationalized and sustainable advantage," said Chris Pereira, CEO of North American Ecosystem Institute, a global communications and consulting group.

Pereira believes that supply chain cooperation almost always presents win-win opportunities, "as such transactions make both suppliers and customers happy."

Going forward, Pereira said it is critical for Chinese technologies to reach wider markets across the world, and his company is working to contribute to this mission.

"I believe China has a first-class supply chain and expect to see more global exchanges with China's high-tech in the following five to 10 years," Pereira said.