Rio Tinto CEO Jakob Stausholm expressed optimism about China's ongoing economic liberalization, signaling the company's intent to capitalize on the opportunities by increasing purchases from Chinese suppliers.
Stausholm commended the recent meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday, highlighting productive discussions on the company's ongoing initiatives and contributions to China's development.
"We meet our customers, but we also meet our suppliers and we still learn about the strengths of the whole ecosystem of suppliers in China. [And] all sorts of mining equipment, we just talked about how we could develop new EV trucks, but it could be conveyor belts, it could be all sorts of equipment. We keep on spending more and more money here in China. We are likely to exceed four billion dollars of purchases in China this year, because you got amazing suppliers that are both cost competitive and deliver high quality. So, it actually strengthens our business," said Stausholm.
China's recent announcement of zero restrictions on foreign investment in manufacturing has paved the way for increased global participation in the sector. Stausholm capitalized on this opportunity by revealing plans to expand sourcing from Chinese suppliers.
"We're trying to take advantage of China's opening-up by using more Chinese suppliers around the world. I have to say from our perspective, we have never seen China [this] close. Right now, we are selling more than half of our global production into China. So far, it's been fairly frictionless trade with China. It's admirable," he said.
Meanwhile, Rio Tinto Chair Dominic Barton underscored that global businesses can play a unifying role in defending and promoting supply chain coordination and free trade, when addressing the opening of the second China International Supply Chain Expo on Tuesday in Beijing.
The expo, which runs through Saturday, has drawn more than 600 companies from around the globe. These exhibitors, including Rio Tinto, Apple and Baowu Steel, are showcasing their latest technologies and products, while seeking cooperation in areas ranging from advanced manufacturing and green agriculture to clean energy.
As the first of its kind in the world to focus on fostering supply chain cooperation, the expo, emerging at a time when "decoupling and breaking chains" are on the rise, aims to build up consensus, help companies integrate into global industrial chains, and promote win-win cooperation.
Rio Tinto CEO praises China's opening-up, eyes deeper cooperation with Chinese suppliers
China has emerged as a critical player in boosting the development and security of global supply chains and remains crucial partner to international firms, according to industry experts attending the second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), which is running from Tuesday to Saturday.
The CISCE, as the world's first national exhibition on supply chains, serves as a platform for companies to exchange opinions and achieve long-term cooperation. Themed "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), sees the participation of more than 600 companies, up about 20 percent from last year, according to organizers.
The number of foreign exhibitors has also increased for this year's edition, with U.S. companies expected to contribute the largest share of overseas participation, while more businesses from Europe and Japan are taking part. The world's top 500 companies and industry leaders account for more than 60 percent of the total participants, highlighting the broad appeal and influence of the expo.
Jens Eskelund, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China and the chief North Asia representative of Danish shipping group A.P. Moller-Maersk, underscored China's rapid development over the past two decades and its pivotal role in promoting the international dispersion of value chain activities.
In an interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN), Eskelund pointed to the country's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) 24 years ago as being a key turning point.
"China has been on a fantastic ride, in particular since China joined WTO in 2001. And today China accounts for about one-third of all containers exported in the whole world. And it was coming from a very, very low base. So I don't think that you're going to see anywhere a trajectory as deep and as significant as the one that you saw here. The world was not globalized, but China joined, and China sort of managed to fill that vacuum. And I think China has managed to create an infrastructure, in time, that has actually been able to handle pretty well this significant increase in the amount of cargo that needs to get handled," he said.
He also hailed the country's high-tech developments and said it is leading the smart transformation of the global supply chain.
"Now again we see China taking the lead on sort of the next steps in terms of automation, in terms of AI, and in terms of creating visibility and a lot of exciting developments in supply chain management here in China," he said.
Tetsuro Homma, the executive vice president of leading Japanese electronic product manufacturer Panasonic Holdings, said the firm has developed closer business relations with its Chinese partners over the past three decades and stressed that the tech giant is hoping international trade remains open and barrier-free.
"Around thirty years ago, Panasonic's Chinese business accounted for no more than two percent of its global business, but now it is 23 percent. We purchased raw materials, parts, machines, and even automated production equipment from 6,000 suppliers in China. Therefore, we strongly hope that the global economic system will maintain a free, fair and just trade system," he told the China Media Group (CMG).
Meanwhile, Jiang Yekui, the chief sustainability officer of Syngenta Group China, a company focused on agrichemicals and seeds, said the Swiss-headquartered group hopes to expand cooperation through its participation in the supply chain expo as part of wider efforts to address challenges facing the global agricultural sector.
"It (the supply chain expo) particularly emphasizes the concept of 'chain'. In fact, everyone knows that there are many links in the field of agriculture, and it is difficult for enterprises to solve all problems by themselves. So we are particularly looking forward to more cooperation with our partners at the chain expo to help solve global agricultural problems. Relying on our advantages of operating and providing leading agricultural solutions in more than 100 countries, we seek to connect the world's high-quality agricultural products with the needs of the vast Chinese market," he said.
Int'l business leaders hail China's role in securing global supply chains
Int'l business leaders hail China's role in securing global supply chains
