Premier Li Qiang attended a symposium with international companies, advocating for more cooperation.
China pledges to contribute towards upholding the stability of international supply chains, Premier Li Qiang said at a symposium ahead of the 2nd China International Supply Chain Expo in Beijing. Li highlighted China’s role as a key link in global supply chains and vowed that the People’s Republic would take necessary actions to ensure their stability and work with international partners to transform and upgrade them. Opening up to the outside world and further expanding market access to China are central to this, Li added. Companies attending the meeting included international corporations such as Sumitomo Electric Industries, Apple, Rio Tinto, CATL, and Lenovo Group, as well as the U.S.-China Business Council.
Li urged businesses and partners to strengthen international cooperation and called for opposing decoupling efforts and protectionist policies, as secure and stable supply chains would benefit all parties involved.
The remarks come amidst challenging times for global supply chains and the People’s Republic. While efforts are underway internationally to diversify and derisk supply chains in China-dominated fields, such as critical minerals, the newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on China on top of existing ones current President Joe Biden announced in May. In addition, the levy on Chinese electric vehicles implemented by the European Union in October has likely prompted the People’s Republic to impose its own tariffs on EU-made brandy and launch an anti-dumping investigation in European pork (we reported).
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