Xi: Safeguard security of supply chains

China will unswervingly ensure that industrial and supply chains are public goods in nature, take concrete actions to deepen international cooperation on industrial and supply chains and make sure that people of all countries share the fruits of development, President Xi Jinping said on Monday.

In a congratulatory letter to the International Forum on Resilient and Stable Industrial and Supply Chains, which opened on Monday in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, Xi said China will firmly safeguard the security and stability of its industrial and supply chains.

Maintaining the resilience and stability of global industrial and supply chains is a vital guarantee for promoting the development of the world economy and serves the common interests of people globally, he added.

China is willing to work with other countries to seize the new opportunities presented by the latest scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and build a global industrial and supply chain system that is secure, stable, smooth, efficient, open, inclusive and mutually beneficial, Xi said.

The comments came as strengthening the resilience and stability of global industrial and supply chains is widely seen as vital to supporting economic recovery of all countries, ensuring the smooth running of the world economy and improving the well-being of humanity.

Argentine President Alberto Fernandez said via a video link at the forum that considering the importance of value chains and supply chains, efforts are needed to focus on such issues as how to ensure fair and safe access to goods and services and the need to create high-quality jobs in less developed countries.

Gerd Mueller, director-general of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, also said via video link that "multilateralism and development cooperation are now more important than ever".

Jin Zhuanglong, minister of industry and information technology, said that in the past decades, the world has formed an inseparable industrial division of labor, with countries closely connected with each other through the industrial chains and supply chains, but such a landscape is facing challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

To better deal with headwinds, Jin underlined the need to deepen technological innovation and cooperation, and encourage businesses in various countries to jointly work on research and development in every part of innovation and value chains at every level.

South Korea's Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang said via video link that nowadays, the impact of a crisis that occurs in one country reaches global supply chains, going beyond their neighboring countries.

Therefore, communications through various bilateral, regional and multilateral cooperative channels are essential with a view to realizing the stabilization of global supply chains, Lee said.

At the forum, China, Chile, Cuba, Indonesia, Pakistan and Serbia jointly proposed the Initiative of International Cooperation on Resilient and Stable Industrial and Supply Chains, with the support of Argentina.

The initiative called for endeavors to maintain the rules-based multilateral trading system with the World Trade Organization as the cornerstone, contribute to strengthening the security of global industrial and supply chains, and jointly foster a fair, open and predictable market environment for global specialization and cooperation.

Jim Cathey, chief commercial officer at the US chip company Qualcomm, said the pandemic is the latest and most impactful example of how easily the supply chain can be disrupted.

"As demand for products powered by technology continues to grow …, we need to ensure a more global, diverse and resilient supply chain," Cathey said, adding that Qualcomm is working closely with its industrial chain partners in China to drive improvement and accelerate innovation.

Clas Neumann, senior vice-president of German cloud services company SAP, said that "China has always been an important part of the world's industrial supply chain, providing goods and services with high quality to the world and helping businesses around the globe to operate efficiently".