THE 2nd Cisce, which is set to take place in Beijing from Tuesday to Nov. 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 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 well-being of people around the world.
MNCs flock to show
One of the highlights of the Cisce is the record attendance by multinational corporations (MNCs), which Chinese analysts on Monday said is a fresh testament to the attractiveness of China’s strong and resilient supply chain and vast market.
Top brass of foreign companies took the occasion to pledge their support and commitment to further enhance supply chain cooperation in China.
Apple CEO Tim Cook toured the Cisce site on Monday. “I am proud to be here… that Apple has an exhibit here with our partners,” said Cook, who is visiting the expo for the first time.
Answering a question on Chinese supply chain partners, Cook stated his high regard for Apple’s Chinese partners, as Apple “could not do what it does without them.”
Apple has some 200 major suppliers, with more than 80-percent producing products in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.
This is Cook’s third business trip to China this year. In previous trips, he pledged that Apple would “continue to grow its investments in China and help the high-quality development of the supply chain” in his meeting with China’s Minister of Industry and Information Technology Jin Zhuanglong in October, and said “there’s no supply chain in the world that’s more critical to us than China” in a March trip.
Rio Tinto Chief Commercial Officer Bold Baatar said that China has played the role of connector and stabilizer for the global industrial and supply chain over past decades and leads global trade exchanges, investment and cooperation, according to a statement the global mining giant sent to the Global Times on Monday.
China’s speeding up of the development of new quality productive forces will continue to usher in new demand for resources needed for energy transition, bringing MNCs and their Chinese partners fresh opportunities, according to Baatar.
FedEx, one of the world’s largest express transportation companies, is participating in the Cisce for a second time.
Poh-Yian Koh, president of FedEx China, told the Global Times on Monday that “by participating in the Cisce, we aim to collaborate and help strengthen the resilience of global industrial and supply chains, support the smooth operation of the global economy, and contribute to a more open and prosperous future.”
Despite rising protectionist headwinds that have negatively impacted the global industrial and supply chain, foreign vendors from some 70 countries are flocking to the event.
Foreign vendors participating in this year’s Cisce account for 32 percent of the total number of vendors, markedly higher than a reading of 26 percent in the previous event, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the organizer of the Cisce.
“You cannot talk about international supply chain cooperation without talking about big MNCs, as they are the main players,” Huo Jianguo, a vice chairman of the China Society for World Trade Organization Studies in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday.
“Their enthusiasm in attending attests to China’s attractiveness as a cornerstone of global manufacturing, its growing influence and vast consumer market,” said Huo.
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