* Multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations.

* Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year.

* The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain.

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- As the third China International Supply Chain Expo opened Wednesday in Beijing, multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations in a move that will inject more certainty into the world economy.

The five-day event has attracted 651 companies and institutions from 75 countries and regions. Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. Among the first-time multinational participants are major players such as Nvidia, Schneider Electric, L'Oreal, Louis Dreyfus and Medtronic.

The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. The participating companies see China as both a stabilizing force and an innovation driver in the global supply chain.

"The expo is an important gathering for innovation and collaboration, helping to strengthen the sustainable development of global manufacturing and international supply chains," said Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC.

CLOSER COLLABORATION

The expo comes on the heels of China's announcement of a 5.3 percent economic growth for the first half of the year despite rising challenges and external uncertainties.

China's steady economic growth, coupled with its robust supply chain and commitment to further opening up, positions it as a key partner for multinational companies.

Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. tech giant Nvidia, on Tuesday praised China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) during his visit to Beijing, describing the Chinese market as both "large" and "dynamic."

While speaking at the opening ceremony of the expo on Wednesday, Huang lauded China's supply chain as a "miracle." China's open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution, he said.

"China is a very important country where the development of AI will continue to be very fast and we hope to be part of that," Huang told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there's so much opportunity and confidence in the Chinese market.

Huang confirmed on Tuesday that Nvidia's H20 chips will soon be available in the Chinese market again, following the U.S. government's approval of the company's filing licenses for shipping H20s to China.

The expo has become a key venue for global firms to forge and expand supply chain collaborations.

The expo serves as a platform for expanding McDonald's supply chain partnerships, Xu Jansen, head of Impact Strategy at M (China) Co., Ltd. The fast food chain attended the expo for a second straight year, teaming up with 11 suppliers this year.

Xu emphasized the importance of the Chinese market, noting that half of the new McDonald's stores opening each year globally are located here.

The company has built a network of local suppliers and also helped many of them ship products overseas. China serves as a stabilizer to the global supply chain and global economic growth, Xu said in an interview.

For French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the expo is also an opportunity to showcase its ecosystem and build collaborations.

"Here, we explore innovative collaborations with our global partners, from R&D to production and patient accessibility enhancement, and share the latest results of localized practices," said Wayne Shi, president of Sanofi Greater China. Sanofi will continue to support the Healthy China initiative with innovative drugs and vaccines, Shi said.

RESILIENCE

Business executives and experts assert that, given the current global economic climate, no single country can fulfill every role in industrial and supply chains. It is essential for countries to work together to achieve win-win results.

Global firms view China as a pivotal destination for enhancing and diversifying their supply chains, owing to the country's vast manufacturing capacity, robust industrial ecosystem, and improving business environment.

Xiao Song, chairman, president and CEO of Siemens China, said that at a time when the global industrial landscape is undergoing rapid restructuring, the expo is becoming an important platform to promote the deep integration of all sections of the industrial chain.

Siemens aims to help Chinese firms upgrade with digital and low-carbon technologies, helping build a green competitive edge globally as well as a more resilient and sustainable global industrial and supply chains, Xiao said.

As the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, the expo is an internationally shared public product. First held in 2023, the expo has contributed to building more secure, stable, open and inclusive global industrial and supply chains.

With over 70 special events and new alliances for exhibitors in each of the six supply chains showcased at the expo, the expo helps enterprises find partners, application scenarios and solutions, according to Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the event's organizer.

Ren called on global business leaders to work together to uphold the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core.

Xu Jiabin, a professor at the Business School of Renmin University of China, said that as a manufacturing and trading powerhouse, China has made significant contributions to the stability and resilience of the global supply chain.

"The expo will help mitigate the negative effects of trade barriers and safeguard the global international economic and trade order," Xu said.

(Video reporters: Zheng Xin, Zhang Mocheng, Luo Xin, Guo Yujing, Zhang Xiao, Xia Zilin, Pang Yuanyuan, Ma Xiaodong, Wang Pu; video editors: Wang Han, Zhu Cong, Hong Ling)