China - November 27, 2024 Global firms gather in Beijing for 2nd China International Supply Chain Expo (Voice_over) Here in downtown Beijing, this welcome banquet is packed with some of the most powerful people from the world's most influential firms. The second China International Supply Chain Expo has brought them to the Chinese capital. (Sound_bite) John Mclean, Chairman, China UK Business Development Center: "This is a good place to find out what else you can do with China and actually kind of minimize your risk." (Reporter: "Minimize global risks?" ) "Absolutely, because we now live in a world where black swans are our own, let's say, prevalent, which they weren't before. Therefore, you have to be far more agile and having the kind of base at China available to you actually de-risks it from some aspects." (Sound_bite) John W.H. Denton AO, Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce: "Clearly, you need to have a functioning system to allow goods to go across borders, to allow investment to take place. So the interest that China has now is very much ensuring that we have a functioning, multilateral trading and investment system for the world." (Voice_over) Many of these firms place China at the core of the global supply chain, integral to international business, trade and global markets. (Sound_bite) Simon Bridges, CEO of Auckland Chamber of Commerce, New Zealand: "Having said all of that, we know the world is difficult. There are many issues, but I think we can bid on China continuing to be in a very significant economy with a very strong middle class. Very smart people are leading the way on many things." (Voice_over) Some of these company representatives even consider China, a second home. (Sound_bite) Atakan Bozkurt, CEO, Burger King China: "I live in here more than 10 years, so that's why I'm feeling China, Shanghai is my second home. Having this kind of strong supply chain expo is a great opportunity for our companies to meet each other and have the cooperation together." (Sound_bite) Shirley Yu, Group General Manager, VISA Greater China: "This is definitely a global event. China is one of the largest countries that has a lot of opportunities in the supply chain. The position is really important. So this is definitely you see around. There's a lot of international business people in this event." (Stand_up) Xu Xinchen, Reporter: "The theme of the expo is connecting the world for a shared future. And despite a range of uncertainties and challenges, what I'm seeing here is optimism as company representatives build new bonds and expand their network, all while exploring innovative ways to strengthen their business supply chains." [Restriction: No access Chinese mainland]