BEIJING, April 27 (Xinhua) -- In Qingdao, China's eastern port city that is also home to a major shipbuilding base, CSSC Engine Co., Ltd. has recently delivered the country's first ammonia-fueled low-speed marine engine, marking a breakthrough in the zero-carbon marine propulsion field.
CSSC Engine has formed partnerships with over 130 firms from countries and regions, including Japan, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Germany and Italy, integrating advanced technologies and high-quality components to develop LNG-, methanol- and ammonia-powered engines for commercial vessels.
Technological coordination with partners across the supply chain has enabled high-standard production and delivery, helping lure more orders from global clients, said Chen Yifang, deputy general manager of the industrial chain leader in low-speed marine engines.
Manufacturers like CSSC Engine underpin China's role in global supply chains. China is reinforcing its position as a key hub in global supply chains as it upgrades from a traditional manufacturing powerhouse and deepens integration with international industrial networks, helping safeguard the stability of the global supply chain.
China is the only country in the world to encompass all industrial categories in the United Nations industrial classification, offering unmatched resilience and responsiveness in terms of industrial and supply chain capabilities. In 2025, the added value of China's manufacturing industry accounted for nearly 30 percent of the global total. The country's manufacturing sector has remained the world's largest for 16 consecutive years.
On the factory floor of China YTO Group Corporation in Luoyang, central China's Henan Province, tractors roll off assembly lines, with a 180-horsepower wheeled tractor incorporating over 1,300 components. The company works with over 700 suppliers.
"A single machine relies on a vast supply chain system," said Su Wensheng, deputy Party chief of China YTO Group and deputy general manager of the First Tractor Company Limited.
YTO sells its tractors to over 100 countries and regions, including markets in Central Asia, Eastern Europe, South America and Africa. It has also established assembly plants in countries such as Kazakhstan and Serbia, alongside a research and development center in Belarus.
Su said the company is shifting from exporting finished products to building globalized industrial and supply chains, including overseas assembly using knocked-down modules.
With growing trade in intermediate goods, China is further integrating into global industrial chains, driving industrialization in regions like Southeast Asia and Africa.
Wang Jun, deputy head of the General Administration of Customs, said such trade was a key driver of export growth in 2025, offering crucial support to global industrial cooperation.
Data show that global reliance on China for intermediate goods trade reached 16 percent in 2023, underscoring its role as a central node in the global manufacturing value chain.
In its 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030), China has pledged to expand trade in intermediate goods and guide the overseas distribution of industrial and supply chains in a rational, orderly manner.
Logistics development is strengthening China's supply chain role. Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province, has become a major inland transport hub, with China-Europe freight trains connecting more than 140 cities in over 40 countries, and air cargo routes linking 73 cities in 32 countries.
Zhongyu Aviation Group plans to copy the successful Zhengzhou-Luxembourg dual-hub model in all other main Belt and Road regions by 2030.
"The dual-hub model helps stabilize global supply chains, particularly for high-value and time-sensitive goods," said Zhang Mingchao, chairman of Zhongyu Aviation.
Lan Qingxin, professor at the University of International Business and Economics, noted that China has emerged as a core hub for the efficient flow of global goods and production factors.
A highly interconnected logistics system enables China to participate in the global division of labor with high reliability and delivery efficiency, thereby consolidating China's position as a key pivot in the global supply chain, Lan added. ■
