(Source: www.chinanews.com) As a recognized "world factory", China occupies an important position in the global industrial chain. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic globalization is facing a new test of "obstruction" at multiple points in the industrial and supply chains. In the face of the challenge, how to stabilize production and strengthen the industrial and supply chains, further improve the business environment and keep the "world factory" signboard bright and shine has become a hot topic at the Two Sessions this year.

Globalization is an irreversible trend

"In the future, the trend of economic globalization will continue to move forward, which cannot be stopped by a few countries or a few politicians," said Li Dongsheng, Deputy to the National People's Congress and Chairman of TCL Group.

Economic globalization is not only in the immediate interests of countries, but also in line with the laws of economic development. According to Li Dongsheng, countries had their comparative advantages, and the division of labor in the global industrial chain was market behavior. "Although the restructuring of the global industrial chain and the adjustment of the rules of economic globalization will affect the future development of Chinese enterprises, the general pattern and trend of economic globalization will not change."

Hong Jie, Deputy to the National People's Congress and Chairman of SKSHU Paint Co., Ltd., said that economic globalization had created an interconnected division of labor, which was the most efficient model of economic operation. "Due to cost and labor factors, multinational companies have neither the incentive not the ability to relocate back to their home countries."

According to Hong, the multi-point "obstruction" of the industrial and supply chains was mainly caused by the stalled economic operation and logistics services associated with the pandemic; any attempt to artificially "block" the industrial chain would only lead to a bigger recession in the global economy, and "no country would benefit from it”.

Boost the value of the industrial chain through internal training

In the face of the changing global economic landscape, China has "stayed calm", and the government has repeatedly stressed the need to "manage its own things well".

Chen Zhongni, a member of the CPPCC National Committee, Chairman of Golden Eagle Holdings and President of the United Zhejiang Residents Association (H.K.), suggested that China should fully leverage and consolidate its strengths, carry out more vigorous reform and opening-up, speed up the upgrading of its own industrial chain and optimize the global industrial layout. "If you want to prevent the industrial chain from being 'decoupled', you have to further enhance your value and position in the global industrial chain."

In this regard, the frontier city of China's opening up, Suzhou, has made the following latest practice: a global cloud event of industrial chain cooperation was recently held, during which agreements worth some 400 billion yuan were signed with Microsoft, Adidas, Roche diagnostics and other internationally renowned enterprises, showing the “strong dynamism” of international industrial cooperation under the pandemic.

Lan Shaomin, Deputy to the National People's Congress, Standing Committee Member of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, and Secretary of CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee, said that the move was aimed at “offsetting the uncertainties of global industrial transformation with industrial chain cooperation", and foster a more innovative, high value-added industrial chain through open cooperation. He also suggested that the government should strengthen the industrial chain, tap into the innovation chain, access the capital chain, deploy resources on the service chain, plan for the alternative chain and expand the flexible chain, with a focus on the industrial chain, to cultivate "internal strengths".

Foster a sound environment and provide the fertile ground for development

"To protect China's industrial chain is to protect China's international economic influence." Zhang Tianren, Deputy to the National People's Congress and Chairman of Tianneng Group, believed that in the face of the pandemic and other risks, China should improve the business environment with greater efforts, seize the "window of opportunity" for transformation and upgrading, boost the core competitiveness of the industrial chain, prepare a fertile ground for the development of the industrial chain, and increase all-round support for enterprises.

"Specifically, the government could introduce more targeted policies based on their respective geographical, innovation and industrial advantages to foster a better investment environment, raise the awareness and efficiency of services, and increase the enterprises’ sense of gains." Zhang Tianren believed that in the process of creating a good business environment, it was important to maintain policy stability and establish a comprehensive, unified, open and transparent, fair and just market environment, "treating all market entities as equals".

Zhejiang, which has an active export-oriented economy, is an important window to showcase China's business environment. In the province’s major manufacturing city Shaoxing, the key economic indicators have rebounded since March, with a marked narrowing of the decline. The city’s strong performance is the result of the continuous optimization of the local business environment, which is also part of the city's industrial development plan rolled out in recent years.

On keeping China’s reputation of "world factory", Ma Weiguang, Deputy to the National People's Congress and Secretary of CPC Shaoxing Municipal Committee, suggested promoting the building of modern manufacturing clusters at the national, regional, innovation, industrial and other levels. For example, from the national perspective, the three major areas of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta as well as some other important city clusters should be given clear roles in the manufacturing network, based on their respective strengths, to foster a reasonably planned and advanced manufacturing cluster.