Supply chains take center stage

Supply chains were in the spotlight on the first day at a forum as a Chinese business delegation made a reciprocal visit to the United States after the conclusion of a major government session in Beijing.

The delegation was the first to visit the US after the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. An American business delegation visited China last week.

Lin Shunjie, chairman of the China International Exhibition Center Group Ltd, told China Daily that many foreign entrepreneurs have expressed a desire to restore and perfect their global supply chain layouts, which they believe "cannot be done without China", he said. "Only in China can they maximize supply chain efficiency, minimize costs, and optimize the structure."

He spoke to reporters at the US-China Economic and Trade Cooperation Forum in New York on Monday.

Last year, China hosted the world's first national exhibition focusing on supply chains, the China International Supply Chain Expo. About 515 companies from 55 countries, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies, sent their CEOs to China. Lin said American companies had the highest presence among foreign enterprises attending the expo.

Many foreign companies were pleased to find that China has many innovative small and medium-sized enterprises that produce at low costs, significantly reducing their supply chain expenses, Lin said.

Jonathan Webb, CEO of Packable, formerly known as Pharmapacks, said the company is the largest seller on Amazon and Walmart in the US, shipping 60,000 to 100,000 orders a day.

"We're here to connect with people who can help us integrate into the Chinese infrastructure, such as Temu and TikTok," Webb told reporters on the forum.

China is crucial "because 90 percent of everything sold online comes from there", Webb said. He said that the US market has "a huge appetite" for Chinese-manufactured goods, from selfie sticks to EV charging stations.

All of those goods are being manufactured in China and brought to the US, but he said "everyone is nervous about the tariffs. We need to figure out how to mitigate these issues."

Continuous cooperation between the US and China is essential for maximizing global supply chain benefits, Webb said.

"Working with China creates jobs in the US" and stimulates the local economy, he said.

If tariffs are increased, many US innovators who manufacture in China might have to move to other countries, which could affect supply chains, Webb said.

A Chinese business delegation led by Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), attended Monday's forum. The group included business leaders from provinces such as Guangdong and Zhejiang.

The delegation is also scheduled to attend meetings in places including Maryland and Washington DC.

Participants at Monday's forum also included Huang Ping, consul general of the Chinese Consulate General in New York; Peter Tichansky, president and CEO of the Business Council for International Understanding; and Declan Daly, CEO of the American International Business Council. More than 300 representatives from Chinese and American businesses and trade communities also attended.

China's market potential offers huge cooperation opportunities, as it imports $2.5 trillion of goods and services annually and ranks second in attracting foreign direct investment, said Huang.

He noted that the recent Party plenary session highlighted expanding market access in various sectors and promoting an open economic system to benefits global cooperation.

"Fighting against each other is not going to lead us anywhere. So I really hope that we can seize this opportunity of China's continued reform and opening policy," Huang said. "This momentum allows us to strengthen our relationship and do business together. Both countries, and the whole world, will benefit from this."

"Under current circumstances, the common interests between China and the US are increasing instead of decreasing. Whether in traditional areas like trade and agriculture, or emerging areas like climate change and artificial intelligence, companies in both countries have shared interests and broad cooperation prospects," Ren said.

He said China and the US "enjoy strong economic complementarities and have highly interwoven interests".

"Strengthening supply chain cooperation between the two sides is conducive to keeping the global industrial and supply chains stable and unfettered and will contribute to economic growth of the two countries and beyond," Ren said.

A delegation from the board of directors of the US-China Business Council visited China last week after the plenary session concluded on July 18. The delegation included FedEx President and CEO Raj Subramaniam, United Family Healthcare founder Roberta Lipson, Boeing Global President Brendan Nelson, and Educational Testing Service CEO Amit Sevak.

"We aim to convey the important new openness measures established at the plenary session to the American business community and look forward to hearing their responses and demands," said Xiao Sun, secretary-general of the China Chamber of International Commerce.

minluzhang@chinadailyusa.com