Supply chain expo fuels inclusive global growth

The Second China International Supply Chain Expo opened in Beijing on Tuesday. The expo, along with other events such as the China International Import Expo and China International Fair for Trade in Services, points to the importance the country attaches to opening-up.

That more than 600 foreign and Chinese companies are taking part in this expo, an increase of 20 percent compared with the first one in 2023, and the number of foreign participants has risen by 26 percent, speaks volumes about how such expos are welcomed by domestic and foreign companies.

The number of top 500 transnational enterprises, the number of top 500 Chinese companies and the number of top 500 private Chinese enterprises that are participating in the expo have increased by 42, 46 and 70 percent respectively compared with the first event last year. This suggests that an increasing number of enterprises, whether foreign or domestic ones, have come to realize the important role the expo can play in promoting global supply chains.

China would not have achieved what it has without its opening-up policy, which enabled it to get involved in the world market.

That explains why the Chinese government has further expanded the country's opening-up by continuously shortening the negative list for foreign investment. China has lifted all restrictions for foreign investors to enter the country's manufacturing industry. China has also been deepening its institutional reforms in order to further facilitate foreign investments in the Chinese market.

As a result, the total value of China's imports and exports of goods increased by 5.2 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of this year. The number of newly-established foreign-invested companies increased by 11.8 percent during the same period. Which suggests what China has done in opening-up has met the needs of an increasing number of foreign firms and facilitated the development of global industry and supply chains.

As a huge market, an important global manufacturing powerhouse and a major destination for international investment, China's opening-up is of great significance to the development of the global economy. As China continues to further open up, it will considerably expand the space for global consumption, increase the resilience of the global industry and supply chains, and secure the smooth flow of capital, talent, technologies and data.

At a time when the unilateralism and protectionism of some major economies are negatively impacting the international supply chain, the expo China is hosting provides an opportunity for domestic enterprises and their international counterparts to consult and cooperate to bolster the development of the global industry and supply chains. With the expanded scale of this year's expo, the event is expected to play a prominent role in boosting the openness and inclusiveness of the global economy.