On September 10, at the invitation of Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the International Trade Centre (ITC) jointly hosted a seminar in Geneva, Switzerland. The seminar was held during the WTO Public Forum 2024 under the theme “Building Greener and More Resilient Supply Chains.” CCPIT Chairman Ren Hongbin attended and addressed the event.
Ren Hongbin stated that at present, economic globalization faces both opportunities and challenges. We should be open and inclusive, and practice true multilateralism. The just concluded Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China has made systematic arrangements for advancing Chinese modernization through further deepening reform comprehensively. China’s rapid development will undoubtedly provide new opportunities and inject fresh impetus into the growth of global trade and investment. Building green and resilient supply chains is crucial to addressing global challenges. Playing an active role in the establishment of platforms for international supply chain cooperation, the CCPIT will build on the success of the first China International Supply Chain Expo last year and spare no effort to ensure a successful second edition.
Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director of the ITC, expressed during the seminar that the ITC looks forward to collaborating more with partners to offer technical assistance to small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those in developing countries, to tap into the potential of cross-border e-commerce. This effort aims to build green supply chains, reduce the carbon footprint of e-commerce, and make e-commerce more inclusive and better contribute to sustainable development.
Representatives from international organizations such as Torben Frederiksen, Head of the E-commerce and Digital Economy Branch of the Division on Technology and Logistics at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, participated in the seminar. Business representatives in attendance included Zhao Haiying, Executive Vice President of China Investment Corporation; Xiao Ming, Senior Vice President of ZTE; Yu Bo, Deputy Secretary of the Communist Party of China Leadership Group of the China Datang Corporation; Zhao Dianlong, Vice President of the China Railway Construction Corporation Limited; Wang Jun, Chief Scientist of the CRRC Corporation Limited; Wang Shutong (Diane Wang), Chairperson of DHgate Group; Jin Lei, Chairman of the Beijing Balance Medical Technology Co. Ltd.; and Ma Hongyan, Vice President of International Marketing at Skywell. In total, over 100 representatives from international organizations, business associations, think tanks and enterprises were present at the event.
The most significant annual outreach event of the WTO, the Public Forum was held in Geneva from September 10 to 13 this year, attracting over 4,000 participants from diverse sectors worldwide.