On November 28, the opening ceremony of the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum was successfully held in Beijing. Premier Li Qiang of the State Council attended the event and delivered a keynote speech.
Li Qiang said that the CISCE is the world’s first national expo with the theme of supply chain, and the current world economic recovery is facing difficulties. As President Xi Jinping pointed out, maintaining the resilience and stability of global industrial and supply chains is an important guarantee for the promotion of global economic development. Consolidating and strengthening cooperation in global industrial and supply chains reflects the interests of all parties and the pressing aspirations. The expo held by China aims to answer the call of the times, and create an international platform for all parties to strengthen communication, deepen cooperation and seek common development.
Li Qiang pointed out that both history and reality have proven that countries around the world will benefit when cooperation in global industrial and supply chains remains stable and continues to deepen; otherwise, the world will generally bear losses when cooperation in global industrial and supply chains is hindered and stagnates. China is a participant in, beneficiary of, and also a staunch guardian and builder of cooperation in global industrial and supply chains. China is ready to work with all other parties to make the global industrial and supply chains more resilient, efficient and dynamic, and make greater contribution to promoting global economic recovery, development and prosperity.
Li Qiang made a four-point proposal on deepening international cooperation in industrial and supply chains. First, jointly build safe and stable industrial and supply chains, enhance the resource coordination of key industrial chains on a global scale, and avoid interfering with market behaviors at will. China will continue to provide the world with high-quality made-in-China products and stable supply from China. Second, jointly build smooth and efficient industrial and supply chains, further strengthen global connectivity and make the circulation of factors of production more convenient and their allocation more effective. China will continue to advance high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and step up innovation cooperation in smart manufacturing, the digital economy and other fields. Third, jointly build open and inclusive industrial and supply chains, take a clear-cut stand against protectionism and various forms of “decoupling and severing industrial and supply chains”, and make efforts to promote the green and low-carbon transition of industrial and supply chains. China will integrate at a deeper level into the global system of industrial and supply chains, and will actively participate in international cooperation in the fields of green development. Fourth, jointly build industrial and supply chains that are mutually beneficial and win-win. It is necessary to promote the building of a global system of industrial and supply chains with extensive participation, complementary advantages and shared dividends among all the countries. China will actively promote industrial and production capacity cooperation with other countries, and help developing countries participate more deeply in global value chains. China hopes that entrepreneurs from all over the world will play an active role in promoting the steady operation of the global industrial and supply chains. China will provide more convenience and better guarantees for enterprises from all other countries to invest and do business in China.
Li Qiang then declared the first China International Supply Chain Expo open.
Before the opening ceremony, Li Qiang inspected exhibition halls of the CISCE, and had interactions and exchanges with responsible personnel of relevant enterprises.
Yin Li and Wu Zhenglong were present at the above events.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Uruguayan President Luis Alberto Lacalle Pou, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis, Deputy Director General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Wang Binying, and Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC) Pamela Rosemarie Coke-Hamilton, delivered video speeches at the opening ceremony. Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) John W. H. Denton AO, Chair of the China-Britain Business Council (CBBC) Sir Sherard Louis Cowper-Coles, and President of the People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Limited (PICC) Wang Tingke, among others, delivered speeches on site. More than 1,100 representatives from political, business and academic circles of over 90 countries, regions, and international organizations attended the opening ceremony.
Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), presided over the opening ceremony. He stated that the CISCE is the world’s first national expo with the theme of supply chain. It is a new and open platform for international industrial and business communities to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in industrial and supply chains. It is an internationally shared public product. Ren Hongbin hoped that people from all walks of life at home and abroad will make full use of the CISCE platform to strengthen exchanges and cooperation and yield fruitful results. He pointed out that the CISCE will continue to be held every year, and the CCPIT will work together with all other parties to render it distinctive and high-level, making the CISCE an internationally first-class economic and trade event. Continuous participation and support from people from all walks of life at home and abroad will be favourably received.
At the opening ceremony and the Global Supply Chain Innovation and Development Forum, the CCPIT, along with representatives from the industrial and business communities, jointly released the “Beijing Initiative for Connectivity of Industrial and Supply Chains”.
The first CISCE is integrated with functions such as trade promotion, investment cooperation, innovation agglomeration, and learning exchange. It strives to integrate the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors, connect small, medium, and large enterprises and promotes collaboration between industry, academia, research, and application, and facilitates interactions between Chinese and foreign enterprises. It aims to create a new platform for promoting high-level opening-up and drive the construction of an open world economy. The exhibition covers a total area of 100,000 square meters, with five main industry chain and supply chain service exhibition areas, including smart vehicle, green agriculture, clean energy, digital technology, and healthy life. There are 515 exhibitors including enterprises and institutions from China and abroad, showcasing new technologies, products, and services in key links of upstream, midstream, and downstream sectors of global supply chains. Foreign exhibitors account for 26% of the total. During the event, six special forums will be held, the Think Tank Forum on International Trade Promotion & Releasing Conference of the Global Supply Chain Promotion Report, and over 20 supporting activities. Six academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering, more than 90 well-known business leaders from China and abroad, as well as representatives of international organizations, will engage in dialogues and exchanges, contributing “CISCE Wisdom” to maintaining the stability and smoothness of global industrial and supply chains.
The first CISCE, themed “Connecting the World for a Shared Future”, will be held from November 28 to December 2 in Beijing. It is hosted by the CCPIT, with support from five international organizations, including the UNCTAD, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the WIPO, the ITC, and the ICC.
