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Xi Jinping Urges Global Business Leaders to Protect Supply Chains
At a meeting in Beijing, Chinese President Xi Jinping urged global business leaders to work together to protect supply chains. Among the group of executives present were Rajesh Subramaniam of FedEx, Bill Winters of Standard Chartered, Pascal Soriot of AstraZeneca, and Miguel Ángel López Borrego of Thyssenkrupp. With the ongoing trade war with the US, Xi emphasized the importance of resisting behaviors that could disrupt the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.
“We hope everyone can take a broad and long-term view and not blindly follow actions that disrupt the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains, but instead contribute more positive energy and certainty to global development,” Xi stated during the meeting at the Great Hall of the People.
This gathering marked the second consecutive year that Xi held a carefully staged meeting with foreign CEOs in Beijing. Last year’s event was exclusively with US business leaders.
The meeting came at the end of a busy week for Chinese policymakers, who are seeking to strengthen relations with international businesses amid escalating tensions with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
China’s efforts to promote itself as a stable force in global trade come in contrast to the US, where Trump has imposed multiple rounds of tariffs on various products. Xi criticized countries that are building tariff barriers and politicizing economic and trade issues, forcing companies to take sides against economic principles.
“Decoupling and severing ties harms others without benefiting oneself; it leads nowhere,” Xi emphasized, while calling on foreign enterprises to resist regressive moves that hinder global industrial and supply chains.
Despite Beijing’s attempts to position itself as a champion of globalization, trading partners like the EU and the US have criticized China for running large surpluses without stimulating domestic demand. They argue that China provides favorable industrial policies, subsidies, and finance to its companies while maintaining barriers to protect the domestic market.
As tensions continue to rise between China and the US, Xi’s call for collaboration among global business leaders highlights the importance of maintaining stable and secure supply chains in today’s interconnected world.
