Stability of global supply chains benefits all: China Daily editorial

While some countries are trying to weaponize their control of key tech to break the global supply chains to their own favor, China is making efforts to strengthen their stability and resilience for the common good of the world. The third China International Supply Chain Expo that is being held in Beijing from Wednesday to Sunday is among the latest examples of its endeavors.

With the theme "Connecting the World for a Shared Future", the expo sets the stage for about 650 companies from 75 countries, regions and international organizations to seek cooperation opportunities, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The event aims to inject positive energy to help steady the global supply chains of advanced manufacturing, clean energy, smart vehicles, digital technology, healthcare and green agriculture.?

Over 65 percent of the exhibitors are Fortune Global 500 companies or industry leaders. Notably, more than 230 companies are making their debut at this year's expo, including the US tech giant Nvidia. That reflects the common understanding that global economic and trade cooperation should not be sacrificed to satisfy certain countries' geopolitical games.

Advanced technologies should be used to make the world a better place for all. But some parties are trying to weaponize them to meet their own narrow ends citing "national security" reasons. Such a selfish and shortsighted practice has repercussions throughout the global industry and supply chains impacting all along the lines.

In his interview with the media in Beijing on Tuesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, who is attending the opening of the expo and related activities, displayed the pragmatic openness of a visionary entrepreneur to the high-tech collaboration between countries.

Noting that China is one of the few countries where "AI is being applied to everything", he implied that China is a market no major tech giant such as Nvidia can afford to ignore.

Describing the Chinese market as both "large" and "dynamic", Huang praised China's thriving AI ecosystem. He highlighted that China accounts for 50 percent of the world's AI researchers, thanks to its emphasis on science and mathematics education, and has an abundance of startups and major cloud service providers. These factors have enabled China to make rapid advancements in AI development.

As the world's two largest economies work to stabilize their economic and trade relations through talks and negotiations, Nvidia is resuming sales of its H20 AI chips in the Chinese market, as Huang announced on Tuesday. The company also plans to launch a fully compatible brand-new GPU for the Chinese market that is "ideal" for smart factories and logistics.

Nvidia's decision to resume sales of its H20 chips to China, backed by assurances from the US government that it can, is a pragmatic signal. It not only demonstrates a practical business judgment but also reflects the fact that cooperation, not confrontation, remains the best path forward for technological progress and global stability.

Although it still relies on overseas supplies for some core tech, China's high-tech sector is making steady progress and its application has caught the attention of the world. That being said, in a stark contrast with the protectionist approach some countries adopt toward high-tech, hyping up so-called supply chain security threats, China advocates for inclusive, comprehensive and sustainable global supply chain security.

Blowing out other people's lights will not make one's own lights brighter; blocking other people's paths will not make one go further, as Beijing has previously made clear. That's why the country calls on the major economies to realize that the more they are pressured to take a beggar-thy-neighbor policy, the more they should firmly support openness and cooperation and jointly protect the rules-based world trade order.

In response to the rising external uncertainties, China has opened its door wider to foreign companies, talents and investors, while diversifying its trading policy portfolio and strengthening its endogenous innovation, creating more opportunities for its foreign partners.

The increasing interest in the expo shown by foreign companies is because of not only the strong pull of the huge market size of the world's second-largest economy and the country's development potential but also its clear stance in favor of cooperation and innovation.

As the participation in the expo shows, efforts to exclude China from the global industry and supply chains will be to no avail. Trade frictions and differences should be reasons for talks and cooperation rather than antagonism and coercion.