BOAO, Hainan, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Through ongoing efforts to enhance regional connectivity and promote opening up, China is increasingly seen as a stabilizing force for the fragile global supply chain, amid threats posed by rising protectionism and unilateralism, experts said.
Attendees at the Boao Forum for Asia (BFA) Annual Conference 2025 in south China's Hainan Province, highlighted that with global supply chains at an inflection point in terms of restructuring, the need for stronger connectivity among countries, especially in the Global South, has never been more urgent due to the need to fend off tariff impacts.
Akylbek Zhaparov, former chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Kyrgyz Republic, emphasized the importance of supply chain stability amid a volatile global landscape. "In a world filled with uncertainty, maintaining stable supply chains is crucial," he said during a sub-forum at the BFA.
While expounding on the role of infrastructure investment in global supply chains, Zhaparov cited the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project as a prime example. As a flagship Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) project, this transport corridor is expected to offer landlocked Central Asian nations access to the sea by connecting to the railway network in China once operational.
"This project will significantly reduce our reliance on traditional trade routes, allowing us to better mitigate potential disruptions in global supply chains," Zhaparov remarked.
In the eyes of Yasiru Bandara Ranaraja, founding director of Belt & Road Initiative Sri Lanka (BRISL), the most glorious time for Asia was the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in 2017, when leaders from dozens of countries came together to discuss building a cohesive regional network for trade.
After years of efforts, countries under the BRI framework have successfully decentralized trade routes coming in and out of Asia and developed several key trade routes linking the most important trade hubs in the region, Ranaraja said.
Data confirm the outcomes of Asia's deepened integration. According to a report released at the BFA, Asia is still at the heart of global value chains, while China continues to be the center of gravity of global manufacturing value chains. In 2023, Asia contributed 41.17 percent to global trade in intermediate goods, which was far more than the 25.5 percent share stemming from the European Union, the report noted.
This achievement is a testament to China's unwavering opening-up commitment. The country has implemented a series of measures to open its door wider -- creating substantial opportunities for the rest of the world.
Since last year, China has introduced measures to expand opening up in sectors such as value-added telecommunications and healthcare, completely removed foreign investment access restrictions in manufacturing, and reduced nationwide foreign investment access restrictions from 31 to 29 items.
As of January 2025, China had inked 23 free trade agreements with 30 countries or regions, while continuously expanding and enhancing the content and quality of these agreements.
In addition, China has been working to push forward the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a mega-trade pact covering about 2.3 billion people. It is now seen as an important anchor for global free trade.
Temir Porras, managing director of Global Sovereign Advisory, told Xinhua in an interview that China offers the world a free trade promotion framework -- one that stands in stark contrast to the stance of certain countries, which are threatening the stability of the global economy by starting trade wars and introducing or raising tariffs.
China is offering the rest of the world a stable framework that allows emerging economies and fragile economies to rely on a solid partnership, and one which does not seek to dictate terms, he said.
These efforts have made China an attractive destination for foreign enterprises, many of which continue to expand their presence in the country.
"It's natural for us to build factories and conduct production in China," said Ueda Toshihiro, executive officer of Japanese material manufacturer AGC Inc.
"With its vast global customer base, China is a key manufacturing hub where our company has seen significant growth and opportunity," Toshihiro added.
Similarly, Marc Horn, executive vice president of Merck and president of Merck China, expressed confidence in China's long-term prospects and vowed to continue engagement with the country. The German tech giant plans to further tap into the country's vast talent pool and explore and leverage local innovation, he noted.
As China solidifies its position in the global supply chain, conference participants also called for further evolution. Denis Depoux, global managing director of Roland Berger, said China should transition from a "Made in China" to a "Designed in China" model.
With Chinese companies gaining international recognition, Depoux suggested they should focus more on investing abroad and cooperating with host countries -- thereby establishing themselves as true multinational corporations with global competitiveness. ■
