Chinese Premier: "Oppose Protectionism... Seek to Strengthen Supply Chains with All Countries"

On the 28th, Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of China, stated that China opposes protectionism and wishes to strengthen supply chains with all countries.

According to major foreign media, Premier Li said at the opening of the "1st China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE)" held in Beijing, China, "We are willing to establish close production, cooperation, and industrial supply chain partnerships with all countries," adding, "The international community should be more cautious about the risks brought by protectionism and uncontrolled globalization."

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

Hosted by the state-owned China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), this expo is regarded as an effort to improve foreign investment in China, which has fallen to its lowest level ever. According to data released by the Ministry of Commerce of China, foreign direct investment (FDI) into China from January to October this year amounted to 987.01 billion yuan (approximately 178.46 trillion KRW), a 9.4% decrease compared to the same period last year.

China, which only releases cumulative FDI statistics rather than monthly figures, has been reporting the data solely in yuan instead of dollars since August. Market research firm Wind estimated through its own analysis that FDI inflows into China in September dropped sharply by 34% year-on-year to 72.8 billion yuan. This represents the largest monthly decline since 2014.

Liang Guoyong, Chief Economist at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), told the state-run Xinhua News Agency, "International cooperation in supply chains is very important at the corporate, industrial, and national levels," emphasizing, "In the global supply chain environment undergoing serious adjustments, this expo will help promote international cooperation."

The CISCE, held until the 2nd of next month, features participation from 515 companies across 55 countries, with exhibition halls divided into six themes: energy, smart cars, digital technology, health and lifestyle, supply chain services, and green agriculture. From Korea, KOTRA has set up a Korean Pavilion with the participation of 50 companies to conduct promotions and business consultations. Among the participating companies, 132 are foreign enterprises, with major U.S. companies such as Apple, Amazon, Tesla, and Intel opening booths to participate.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.