From June 22 to 26, 2026, the 4th China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo (Chain Expo) was held at the China International Exhibition Center (Shunyi Hall) in Beijing. As the world's first national-level exhibition themed on supply chain cooperation, the 4th Chain Expo, under the theme "Linking the World, Creating the Future",demonstrated the resilience and openness of China's supply chain to the world amid a complex and changing global trade environment.
I. Record-Breaking Scale, Rising Internationalization
The 4th Chain Expo featured 676 Chinese and foreign industry leaders, specialized and sophisticated enterprises, and industry organizations,covering 85 countries, regions, and international organizations. Including upstream and downstream partners brought by exhibitors, the actual number of participating businesses exceeded 1,200. The number of exhibiting companies reached a record high, and the number of professional visitors increased by 22% compared to the previous edition.
The proportion of overseas exhibitors reached 36.5% , a record high for all editions. US, European, and Japanese enterprises continued to lead in exhibition scale, while companies and institutions from ASEAN, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America participated with great enthusiasm. A total of 223 overseas delegations came to China specifically for the expo, an increase of 29.7% over the previous edition.
Australia served as the Country of Honor, while France's Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and Italy's Liguria region participated for the first time as foreign provinces of honor. Companies from 13 countries including Finland, Austria, and Kazakhstan made their debut at the Chain Expo.
II. US Companies Lead, Demonstrating China-US Economic Resilience
One of the most notable phenomena at this year's Chain Expo: US exhibitors ranked first among overseas participants for the fourth consecutive year. Leading US companies including NVIDIA, Apple, Tesla, Qualcomm, Intel, Micron, GE Healthcare, Cargill, and Honeywell all made appearances,with government and business delegations from multiple US states coming specifically to China for cooperation talks.
The active participation of US companies stands in stark contrast to the "de-risking" and "decoupling" rhetoric promoted by some Western politicians. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang said in a video address: "China is one of the world's most important centers for technology and industry. The engineers here are outstanding, the developers are agile, and the companies are developing at an extraordinary scale."
As Beijing Review commented, US exhibitors ranking first is a powerful endorsement of the "irreplaceability of China's supply chain". The fact that NVIDIA, Apple, Tesla, Intel and other US industry leaders have exhibited on a large scale for four consecutive years clearly demonstrates the unique resilience of China-US economic and trade relations.
Although the Chinese government announced that 10 US companies were added to the export control list as a countermeasure just as the expo opened,it also actively maintained cooperative relationships with US companies through the Chain Expo platform. This clearly reflects China's strategic approach of "differentiating between control and openness" to maintain and expand its supply chain network.
III. Six Chains + AI Zone, Major Innovations Unveiled
The expo featured six major chains — Digital & Intelligent Technology Chain, Advanced Manufacturing Chain, Green Agriculture Chain, Healthy Living Chain, Intelligent Automobile Chain, and Clean Energy Chain — plus a supply chain service exhibition area, forming a "6 Chains + 1 Zone" layout.
This year's Chain Expo was positioned as the "first year of the Digital & Intelligent Chain Expo". The former "Digital Technology Chain" was officially upgraded to "Digital & Intelligent Technology Chain," with the first-ever AI zone established. AI leaders including NVIDIA, Intel, Qualcomm, and Alibaba gathered,with over 200 upstream and downstream enterprises participating,presenting the complete AI ecosystem from data collection and intelligent computing to scenario implementation.
NVIDIA once again joined hands with domestic ecosystem partners to present the complete AI industry "five-layer cake" — from energy, chips, infrastructure, models to applications. Intel participated for the third time, showcasing solutions implemented together with local partners. Qualcomm Senior Vice President Qian Kun noted that Qualcomm has exhibited for four consecutive years, from AI terminals empowered by the Snapdragon platform to physical AI innovations in smart cars and robotics, continuously driving digital transformation through technological innovation.
During the expo, 161 new products, technologies, services, and scenarios made their debut. The "Chain Expo Launch Station" hosted 37 launch events. The expo also officially released the 2026 Global Supply Chain Promotion Report and the Global Supply Chain Resilience Index Matrix.
Siemens highlighted the industrial chain synergy value of its Xcelerator open digital business platform, which has already gathered nearly 600,000 registered users and nearly 500 ecosystem partners in China. iFlytek brought AI glasses, intelligent multimodal interactive testing robots, and embodied intelligence training and inference robots.
IV. Tangible Results, Stronger "Chain" Connections
This year's Chain Expo was not just a showcase but a practical cooperation platform. Statistics show that exhibitors established connections with 43,000 upstream and downstream enterprises, exceeding the previous edition. During the expo, 70 themed business exchange events and 2 "Chain Expo Night" exhibitor networking sessions were held, with 12,200 participants including Fortune 500 company and international organization leaders. Total online and offline viewership exceeded 62 million.
V. Far-Reaching Significance: A "Stabilizing Anchor" for Global Supply Chains
Against the backdrop of a complex and volatile global situation and increasing risks of supply chain fragmentation,the successful holding of the Chain Expo carries multiple layers of profound significance:
First, it demonstrates the irreplaceability of China's supply chain. China is the only country in the world that covers all 41 major industrial categories, 207 intermediate categories, and 666 sub-categories in the UN industrial classification. From basic mineral processing to high-end equipment manufacturing, upstream and downstream supporting industries can all be found in China. This irreplaceability is the result of a multi-dimensional combination of industrial system, market scale, infrastructure, industrial workers, innovation scenarios, and policy openness.
Second, it underscores the irreversibility of global supply chain cooperation. At a time of rising unilateral protectionism, the fact that US companies have exhibited on a large scale for four consecutive yearsfully demonstrates that the trend of industrial division and cooperation is irreversible. Forced "decoupling" would only disrupt the global economic order and raise production and operating costs for companies worldwide.
Third, it opens a new phase of "China Opportunity 2.0." From the "market dividends" of a large market and low-cost factors to the "innovation dividends" brought by technological progress and industrial upgrading,more and more companies are deeply integrating into China's innovation and industry chains. "China Opportunity 2.0" is bringing precious stability and certainty to the world.
