Foreign CEOs stress int'l cooperation to ensure smooth global industrial, supply chains

Senior executives of multinational giants attending the China Development Forum 2025 have highlighted the importance of strengthening global cooperation to build stable global industrial and supply chains for common development. At a symposium focused on the global industrial and supply chains during the forum on Sunday, participants said the global industrial and supply chains are experiencing great volatility and uncertainty under the influence of factors such as geopolitical conflicts and tariff policies.

They called for continued international cooperation to ensure that the global industrial and supply chains can withstand the unexpected external shocks.

"Billions of dollars have already been expended on these supply chains for them to be as effective and efficient as they are today. And the cracks that we are seeing in this, I think, now present numerous problems. Take copper smelters, for example. When there's more than enough capacity for us already in the world, we then now move into an environment where this inefficient capital allocation and further costs are going to be pushed all the way through the whole of the system. That means we do have to come together across borders and industries," said Duncan Wanblad, CEO of Anglo American, a leading global mining company, at the symposium.

Other foreign CEOs said that strengthening cooperation with China in industrial and supply chains was why they had taken the trip to China this time.

"There are some international trade tensions, and there are many, many opportunities. We see much more demand for aluminum, for copper, and for battery materials, following the very significant development of battery manufacturing and electrical vehicles in China. And [there is a] need to supply with short notice. And that's really our job from Rio Tinto to be able to help China have a full supply chain," said Jakob Stausholm, CEO of British-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto, on the sidelines of the forum. "First we've learned a tremendous amount about the global supply chain and being resilient over the past few years. And we've always made sure we reflected that here in China. There's a tremendous supply chain for the elevator industry here and we rely on it. This is our largest manufacturing locations anywhere in the world. And so we take advantage of the supply chain here not just for China in China, but also in China for the world," said Judy Marks, CEO of world-leading elevator manufacturer Otis Worldwide Corporation.

The China Development Forum 2025 take place from March 23 to 24 this year, with its opening ceremony gathering around 720 attendees, including entrepreneurs, government officials, experts and representatives from international organizations from home and abroad.

Foreign CEOs stress int'l cooperation to ensure smooth global industrial, supply chains

Foreign CEOs stress int'l cooperation to ensure smooth global industrial, supply chains

Foreign CEOs stress int'l cooperation to ensure smooth global industrial, supply chains

China is making significant strides in green energy transition, emerging as a global leader boasting one-third of the world's installed capacity for solar and wind power, according to Beate Trankmann, Resident Representative for China at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) in Beijing, Trankmann praised China's green transition efforts and highlighted areas where the country could make further progress.

"China is already actually a leader in green energy. One third of solar and wind power installed capacity in the world is right here in China. I think one area is, for example, going forward to see how more renewable energy can actually be fed into the grid. [China's] green energy generation capacity is already over 50 percent, but energy output is at 30 percent. So that points to issues in grid infrastructure, in storage capacities, but also in market regulations. And I think that's an area where China can do more work," said Trankmann.

The newly installed capacity of renewable energy in 2024 accounted for 86 percent of China's total newly installed power capacity, while the cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy made up a record high of 56 percent of the nation's total in the year, according to data from the National Energy Administration (NEA).

Last year was the second year that China's cumulative installed capacity of renewable energy power generation exceeded 50 percent of the country's total installed capacity.

Trankmann also underscored that as China pushes forward with its green transformation, the UNDP is working to ensure that emerging technologies, like hydrogen fuel cells, are accessible to all.

"In particular, from UNDP's perspective, again, what we are looking at is that these types of technologies that we can make sure [is] that everyone has access [to] and benefits from them, so that their application doesn't actually exacerbate existing divides or even create new fault lines. One example of the type of work that we're doing in that area is working with two vocational educational colleges in Foshan and in Changshu - for [cultivating] hydrogen fuel cell engineers. And that's actually the first dedicated program for the hydrogen economy and hydrogen engineers in China. And 30 percent of these students are women," said Trankmann.

China takes lead in global green transition efforts: U.N. official