Exhibitors at the just-concluded China International Supply Chain Expo highlighted its growing role in fostering global collaboration.
Held under the theme "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the five-day expo ran from Wednesday to Sunday in Beijing, drawing 651 companies and institutions from 75 countries and regions. Foreign exhibitors accounted for roughly 35 percent of participants, highlighting the event's growing international influence.

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal, making its debut at this year's expo, emphasized that in the beauty industry, supply chains go beyond product creation. They are essential for getting products into consumers' hands quickly.

To keep pace with China's booming e-commerce sector, the group established its first smart fulfillment center last year in Suzhou, eastern China, a city located just next to Shanghai -- one of the country’s largest consumer markets. Equipped with advanced automation and IT systems, the 46,000-square-meter facility is capable of producing over 7,000 direct-to-consumer parcels per hour.

"Manufacturing in Yichang and Suzhou, the new fulfillment center, which has been implemented in Suzhou, is what we call the smart fulfillment center -- driven by technology, driven by machine learning. The purpose of that is making sure that any consumer can get his product wherever he is, as fast as he needs. I know Chinese consumers are extremely demanding. They want to have the best product, the right product, right now. Us, L'Oreal, on our own, we cannot support the scale and the speed of the China business," said Marc Antoine Poulle, senior vice president of L'Oreal's operations in North Asia and China.

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, another first-time exhibitor at the expo, has been operating in China for 40 years, marking a major milestone: the first Airbus final assembly line outside Europe is located in China.

Erik Buschmann, chief operating officer of Airbus China, said local suppliers across the country are helping the company move toward its next goal: greener skies.

"The first one is Tianjin. That's where our manufacturing site is. So the largest and biggest site we have in China is Tianjin. Why Tianjin? It's close to the water, so it's important for the sections to arrive, and it's a big city in China, so therefore it has good conditions for us. We are looking at ways of being in itself more sustainable; using parts, using pieces, using material again, doing a smart way of manufacturing, being in a way in a sustainable production environment. That's where these people help us, and we are very confident that we can do even more in China," said Buschmann.