BEIJING: China will continue to take concrete actions to ensure stable and unimpeded global industrial and supply chains, Chinese Premier Li Qiang said Monday while attending a symposium with representatives of enterprises and organizations participating in the upcoming second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE).
Present at the symposium were representatives of Apple Inc., Rio Tinto, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. and the US-China Business Council, among others.
Highlighting their full confidence in the Chinese economy and optimism about the huge potential of the Chinese market, corporate representatives said foreign firms in China are willing to expand their investment and deepen their development in the country, strengthen cooperation on global industrial and supply chains, and achieve win-win results.
Li said with the in-depth development of economic globalization, global industrial and supply chains have expanded gradually over the past few decades, promoting the rapid growth of the world economy and benefiting all parties.
While global economic growth now lacks momentum, certain protectionist acts and moves that overstretch the concept of security continue to damage global industrial and supply chains, pushing up corporate costs further, reducing economic efficiency and hindering common development, he said. Li called for firm efforts to safeguard stable, unimpeded global industrial and supply chains, as well as the common interests of all parties. The premier noted that China has achieved generally steady economic growth and made further progress this year, saying that more efforts will be made to step up counter-cyclical adjustment and promote sound economic development.
China will accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, and provide solid support for the efficient operations of global industrial and supply chains, Li said.
The 2nd CISCE, which is set to take place in Beijing from Tuesday to November 30, has attracted over 600 Chinese and foreign companies, marking a 20-percent rise in exhibitors compared to the previous event.
Chinese analysts said that China’s holding of events such as the CISCE and the recently concluded China International Import Expo, one of the world’s largest import-themed expos, is a clear signal that the country is committed to safeguarding global free trade and cooperation amid rising anti-globalization headwinds.
Li Yong, a senior research fellow at the China Association of International Trade, told the Global Times on Monday that sticking to the path of opening-up has become a consensus in China and it is also a policy a country must adopt in order to achieve common development under the current global economic environment.
Li Yong noted that China’s efforts to further open up its market to the outside world are taking place in the face of some countries’ rising unilateralism and protectionism, which have disrupted and damaged the smooth flow of global trade of goods and services and undercut the wellbeing of people around the world. –The Daily Mail-Global Times news exchange item
