In front of the South African booth at the just concluded First China International Supply Chain Promotion Expo, Anton Arenz, Chief Operating Officer of Numolux Group in South Africa, took a happy photo with several Chinese exhibitors who had agreed on cooperation intentions, and said "eggplant" in Chinese.

     During the Chain Expo, Arenz's company signed three agreements in the fields of health and minerals, and received more consultants than expected. This year's Chain Expo has attracted a total of 515 Chinese and foreign enterprises and institutions to participate, with approximately 130000 visitors. According to incomplete statistics, more than 200 cooperation agreements and intention agreements have been signed, involving an amount of over 150 billion yuan.

     Among the exhibitors and institutions, there are many exhibitors from countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", accounting for nearly half of the total number of overseas exhibitors. Similar to Arenz, many exhibitors have achieved business expansion through the Chain Expo platform.

     This year marks the tenth anniversary of the initiative of jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Analysts point out that the Chain Expo has brought new opportunities for high-quality development to co built countries, becoming an important window to showcase their own advantages, helping these countries more effectively integrate into the global industrial and supply chains, and achieve industrial upgrading.

     Uruguay is the first MERCOSUR country to sign a memorandum of understanding with China to jointly build the "the Belt and Road" cooperation. Uruguayan President Lakale said in his opening speech that participating in the Chain Fair is a good practice for Uruguay to participate in the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road", and Uruguay is willing to further participate in such fairs.

     Khalid Hanafi, Secretary General of the Arab Chamber of Commerce, represented chambers of commerce in the Arab region at the Chain Expo. He told Xinhua News Agency reporters that a few months ago, when the organizers of the Chain Expo issued an invitation to participate, the Arab Chamber of Commerce Union "immediately" accepted the invitation. He expressed the hope that by participating in the Chain Expo, more people can learn about Arab countries and find opportunities for win-win cooperation.

     Türkiye sent a large scale delegation to participate in the Chain Fair this time. Kokhan Kurdeolu, Chairman of the China Group of Türkiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Turkish China Council of the Türkiye Council on Foreign Economic Relations, said that it is very important for Türkiye's "Middle Corridor" plan to work together with the "the Belt and Road" initiative, hoping to add new energy to future bilateral cooperation. "We are pleased to see the improvement and upgrading of logistics networks in the Eurasian continent, especially across the Caspian Sea region."

     The Chain Expo not only focuses on traditional industrial chains and supply chains, but also pays attention to current new technologies, trends, and services. Teshome Fizum Gilma, an assistant researcher at the Ethiopian Institute of Public Health, said that she came to the Chain Expo to learn from China's advanced development experience. She is very concerned about the new products and technologies showcased in the Healthy Life Chain section and discovered "very cool products" at a biopharmaceutical company booth.

     Chen Jiahang, a Malaysian international student from the School of International Relations at Renmin University of China, said that the Chain Expo showcases some innovative aspects in the production and manufacturing process of products, and the technological progress is shocking. "If I don't come to visit, I may not be able to understand some companies' changes in various aspects of daily life, nor do I understand the close cooperation between Chinese companies and the outside world."

     Hu Biliang, Executive Dean of the "the Belt and Road" College of Beijing Normal University, believes that the industrial chain supply chain highlighted by the Chain Expo and the four initiatives proposed by China to deepen international cooperation in the industrial chain supply chain are highly consistent with the concept of jointly building the "the Belt and Road", especially the development of connectivity. Building a healthy and stable industrial chain supply chain is the premise and foundation for achieving connectivity.

     In the view of Yu Jia, director of the International Development Cooperation Department of the Institute of New Structural Economics of Peking University, Chain Expo provides more opportunities and space for cooperation between China and countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road", and contributes to the growth, expansion and stability of the global industrial chain supply chain.

     Yu Jia said that holding the Chain Expo will help countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" more clearly understand the need to build an efficient and smooth industrial chain supply chain. She said, for example, that African countries have a "late mover advantage" in the application of digital technology, and have the potential for leapfrog development. This field will become a highlight of innovative cooperation in the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road".