The Chinese and European business leaders remained positive about the outlook of bilateral trade at the fourth China-EU E-commerce Summit held in Madrid, capital of Spain, on Tuesday.
The meeting provided a platform for over 10,000 Chinese and European investors and entrepreneurs from 30 countries to connect and strengthen their ties, despite escalating global trade and geopolitical tensions.
Tariffs and the trade deficit are the elephants in the room, but speakers at the summit said that opportunities still exist for growth and shared entrepreneurship.
"I think at times like this, more events and associations like ours are needed. Our aim is to become a new hub linking the Chinese and European markets, especially in emerging industries such as e-commerce, digitalization, and artificial intelligence. We want to provide better mutual access to talent and innovation," said Wang Yuqiao, president of China-EU Association for the Interchange of Talent.
The meeting came as China's top legislator Zhao Leji concluded his visit to Spain, after meeting with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Spanish King Felipe VI. At the meetings, both sides expressed a shared desire for global peace and stability.
In Madrid, experts also reiterated the importance of China-US cooperation.
"If I do well, you do well, right? If America catches the flu, China gets a cough. If China gets a cold, America will have a fever, right? We all need to be in good health and get stronger together. If the U.S. economy is strong, China's gets stronger too and strengthens the European Union also. If we're all stronger then the world is a better place. Who wants depression? Who wants to be hungry? Who doesn't want to have a better life? I believe this is the simplest truth," said Gong Xiaofeng, director of the Institute of Emerging Industries Development with Shenzhen University.
Chinese, European business leaders stay upbeat about bilateral trade
Food companies at the ongoing second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), taking place in Beijing from Tuesday to Saturday, have been making headways in promoting supply chain cooperation toward greener agriculture.
As the world's first national exhibition on supply chains, the CISCE, serves as a platform for companies to exchange opinions and achieve long-term cooperation across supply chains.
Themed "Connecting the World for a Shared Future", this year's expo sees the participation of more than 600 companies, up about 20 percent from last year, according to organizers.
Many world-renowned food and beverage giants demonstrated their years of dedicated cultivation in supply integration at the event, such as Starbucks China, which showcased its full industrial chain, from bean to cup, at the exhibition booth.
"From the plantation, processing, to procurement and delivery, we continuously deepen our industrial and supply chains of coffee," said Jia Ziyi, a barista at Starbucks China.
With an increasing number of global food companies focused on sustainable agriculture, a key focus at the event is using the connectivity that supply chains provide to spread technological innovations in the field.
"Agriculture must do more than feed our world, it must also improve it. To achieve that, it is critical to accelerate innovation, and to make farming more productive and sustainable. We have 150 research centers and 6,500 scientists worldwide," said Fu Su, president of Syngenta Group China.
To promote the development of agricultural supply chains, strengthening interconnectivity cooperation has become an important issue this year.
"This supply chain expo will improve the connections among all the enterprises in the supply chain. Like McDonald's, our supply chain is very long from farm to factory and restaurants. Along all these supply chain, we have collaboration with our suppliers," said Adelaide Gu, chief impact officer for McDonald's China.
"We see a huge success. We see over 100 countries participating, providing not only support but cooperation, extending their arms to cooperate with China, to open doors, to open new venues for supply chains," said Alaa Ezz, secretary-general of the Union of African Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Agriculture, and Professions.
The expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, covers a floor space of more than 100,000 square meters with six key industrial chains and one exhibition area of Advanced Manufacturing Chain, Clean Energy Chain, Smart Vehicle Chain, Digital Technology Chain, Healthy Life Chain, Green Agriculture Chain and Supply Chain Service Area.
Supply chain expo showcases promising future of green agriculture through connectivity
