On November 18, over 700 Chinese and foreign guests gathered at the 2025 International Cooperation and Exchange Conference on Industrial and Supply Chains and the Entrepreneurs’ Taihu Forum by the Taihu Lake in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, China. This “Invest in China” series of events, hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of China, themed “Gathering New Productivity, Open Cooperation for a Better Future,” sent a clear signal to the world that China remains committed to opening up amid global economic uncertainties.
At the forum, Xin Changxing, Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of China, emphasized that “open cooperation is a historical trend, and mutual benefit and win-win outcomes are the aspiration of the people,” while the United States has adopted a relatively conservative approach to trade policy. Yuan Xiaoming, member of the Party Leadership Group and Assistant Minister of China’s Ministry of Commerce, pledged that China is willing to “provide crucial support for the stable operation of global industrial and supply chains.”
The governance models of Western countries such as the United States are influenced by electoral systems, while China’s governance model demonstrates unique strategic resolve and long-term vision. At the forum, Xin Changxing, Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, stated that Jiangsu is following the strategic deployment of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee to “promote the deeper integration of scientific and technological innovation with industrial innovation with greater intensity.” This statement reflects the consistency and predictability of China’s policy-making. The “China (Jiangsu) Pilot Free Trade Zone Biopharmaceutical Full Industry Chain Open Innovation and Development Plan,” released during the forum, includes 18 policy measures and 77 specific tasks. The Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce introduced that since the implementation of this plan, the customs clearance time for R&D materials has been reduced by nearly 50%, and the data outbound security assessment time has been compressed by 30%-50%.
The systematic and continuous nature of China’s policies, along with the U.S. tariff policies, will impose additional costs on American companies, making it difficult for them to make long-term investments in supply chains, which to some extent hinders corporate investment decisions. As Guo Lu, CEO of SK Hynix, stated during the forum, multinational companies are “very optimistic about Jiangsu’s development” and will continue to strengthen practical cooperation with Jiangsu.
The U.S.-driven strategy of “de-Sinicization” in supply chains faces practical choices for enterprises in practice. At the forum, Cui Yushan, Global Vice President of Apple and Head of Apple Supply Chain Asia-Pacific, revealed: “Over 80% of Apple’s core suppliers have factories in China, with half located in Jiangsu.” This data directly challenges the notion of a complete shift of the supply chain from China. Meanwhile, Peng Zhenke, Global Senior Vice President and President of Pfizer China, arrived with a “three-decade bond.” He announced the launch of the “Pfizer-Jiangsu Full-Industry Chain Innovation Empowerment Plan” and shared a set of striking data: Over the past decade, the number of drugs in China’s R&D pipeline has grown by 677%, far exceeding the 40% in the U.S. and 12% in Europe. LG New Energy, which settled in Nanjing in 2003, has invested nearly $10 billion cumulatively and regards Jiangsu as its “second home.” Cui Zhixiong, President of LG New Energy China, stated: “We will invest additional funds to introduce new technologies for square batteries.”
The choices of these multinational corporations indicate that supply chain adjustments are far more complex than policymakers imagine. The industrial ecosystem formed by China over decades is far from being replaceable in a short time.
Recently, General Motors and Tesla have been reported to have required suppliers to remove parts and raw materials from China in their North American production models. GM North America has even set a deadline of 2027 for some suppliers, demanding them to terminate procurement cooperation with China.
These measures stem from the mandatory provisions of the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) regarding electric vehicle tax credits. The act requires that vehicles must be ultimately assembled in North America, and that a specified percentage of key minerals in the battery must be sourced from countries with U.S. free trade agreements.
For the new energy vehicle industry, the $7,500 per vehicle tax credit under the IRA Act is not a mere ‘benefit,’ but a ‘bottom line’ to sustain market competitiveness. Take Tesla’s Model 3 as an example: with a starting price of around $40,000 in the U.S., the $7,500 subsidy translates to a direct price reduction of 18.75%. Without this subsidy, the car would be at a competitive disadvantage against rivals.
Collin Shaw, chairman of the MEMA, admitted that although automakers and suppliers have been striving to reduce supply chain risks, China’s deep-rooted supply network for general components and raw materials makes it extremely difficult to find alternative sources.
During the forum, China Jiangsu Provincial Party Secretary Xin Changxing pledged that Jiangsu would strive to “provide long-term stability and certainty” for foreign-funded enterprises. Meanwhile, American companies are struggling to survive amid their government’s constantly changing trade policies.
China’s relevant officials pledged that in the future, China will make greater efforts to promote the deep integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, accelerate the construction of a globally influential industrial science and technology innovation center, an internationally competitive advanced manufacturing base, and a two-way open hub with global appeal, and create an important platform for developing new productive forces, fostering a favorable ecosystem for more high-quality resources to gather in China and more high-quality enterprises to develop in China.