London hosts China International Supply Chain Expo roadshow

LONDON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- A roadshow of the first China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) was held here on Wednesday, attended by around 140 representatives from British and Chinese business associations, enterprises and media organizations.

The CISCE, to be held in Beijing between Nov. 28 and Dec. 2, 2023, will be the world's first-ever national-level exhibition dedicated to supply chains. It creates a new public platform for global efforts to promote the stable and unimpeded functioning of the industrial and supply chains for economic growth, Bao Ling, minister of Chinese Embassy in the United Kingdom (UK), told the roadshow participants.

Bao urged UK businesses to make full use of the CISCE to explore opportunities for cooperation, share the growth dividends of China and expand the space for business there.

Sherard Cowper-Coles, chair of the China-Britain Business Council, said that he warmly welcomes and supports the expo and that he will lead a delegation from the UK to take part with enthusiasm.

"What we are doing is fighting back against the forces of ignorance and de-globalization, making sure that the world remains connected economically, commercially and culturally in the interests of all our people," Cowper-Coles said.

With a planned exhibition area of over 100,000 square meters, the CISCE in Beijing will feature five supply chains: smart vehicles, green agriculture, clean energy, digital technology, and healthy life, and will also have a supply chain service exhibition area, said Yu Jianlong, vice chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT).

Jack Perry, chairman of the "Young Icebreakers" of the 48 Group Club (a London-based non-profit organization dedicated to promoting bilateral trade between China and the UK) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the London Export Corporation, said that the CCPIT's efforts and actions showed that "there is an interest in China to explore and fix the problems we see in front of us, rather than closing the door."

"Without fast, reliable and sensibly priced supply chains, there will be no business to have and work for," he said.