On the morning of November 6, 2024, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC) and the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China (MOFCOM) held the Parallel Session on Deepening Cooperation on Industrial and Supply Chains for High-quality Development of Enterprises of the 7th Hongqiao International Economic Forum (HQF) at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). Gou Ping, Vice Chairman of the SASAC and Head of the CIIE Central SOE Trade Mission, Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of the MOFCOM, and Anastasia Nesvetailova, Director of Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), attended the event and delivered speeches.

Gou Ping, Vice Chairman of SASAC and Head of the CIIE Central SOE Trade Mission stated that China’s central SOEs have continuously strengthened foreign openness and expanded international cooperation, with increasingly deepened cooperation at various levels and in expanding fields. Currently, over 300 overseas research and development platforms and 20 industrial parks have been established globally, with trade relations with 128 countries (regions) and joint ventures with over 400 enterprises in China. Going forward, SASAC will continue to guide and encourage central SOEs to join hands with businesses worldwide in enhancing scientific innovation and industrial cooperation, striving for mutual benefits and win-win outcomes, and contributing to the stable development of global industrial and supply chains. 

Tang Wenhong, Assistant Minister of the MOFCOM, emphasized that the global industrial and supply chains are undergoing rapid restructuring, and strengthening open cooperation has become a shared expectation for the global business community. China will further deepen the reform of foreign investment and outbound investment management systems, promote high-quality trade development, actively participate in the construction of global industrial and supply chain systems, and deepen international cooperation. The Chinese-style new development will provide new opportunities for all countries and jointly build a secure, stable, smooth, efficient, open, inclusive, and mutually beneficial industrial and supply chain.

Anastasia Nesvetailova, Director of Macroeconomic and Development Policies Branch of the UNCTAD, highlighted the importance of the resilience and stability of global supply chains for the stability of the global economy. However, financial technology, geopolitics, and climate change have had certain negative impacts on global supply chains. Moving forward, countries will need to enhance dialogue and cooperation in areas such as financial technology, policies, and the environment, promote more inter-regional cooperation, and initiate new development strategies for South-South and multilateral cooperation to further strengthen the resilience of global and regional supply chains.

During the panel discussion, Liu Zhongfan, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of Beijing Graphene Institute stated that China's push for progress in many cutting-edge fields boils down to material innovation. The material field, from basic research to processes, ultimately relies on equipment. Therefore, focus should be placed on energy concentration, materials, and equipment to gather the core energy for industrial development. Other industry leaders at home and abroad, including Zhou Yuxian, Chairman of China National Building Material Group, Chen Yangfan, Executive Vice President of China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, Wei Chang, Vice President and Chief Technology Officer of Midea Group, Xiao Song, Global Executive Vice President of Siemens and Chairman of Siemens Ltd., China, Erik Buschmann, Chief Operating Officer of Airbus China, and Ma Changhai, Deputy General Manager of Shandong Heavy Industry Group Co., Ltd. and Chairman of Weichai Holding Group Co., Ltd., discussed the theme of the parallel session with the focus on the source of technology, industrial upgrading, and ecosystem. They emphasized the importance of open cooperation in enhancing the resilience of industrial and supply chains, stimulating corporate innovation, developing new forms of productive force, and promoting the high-quality development of enterprises, and expressed a shared commitment among Chinese and foreign enterprises to an open and inclusive approach to jointly build mutually beneficial industrial and supply chains.