China to build more innovative, reliable supply chains: Official

China will step up and push to build more innovative, higher value-added, and reliable industrial and supply chains, as part of the nation's broader push to help maintain the resilience and stability of global supply chains, a senior official said.

Zhang Yunming, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the nation's top industry regulator, said industrial and supply chains, formed on the basis of international division of labor, are public goods in nature.

"They are also an important link to connect countries around the world and to promote global economic growth," Zhang said at a sub-forum of the Fifth Hongqiao International Economic Forum, on Saturday, during the ongoing Fifth China International Import Expo, which is being held in Shanghai until Thursday.

The comments came after the world has formed an inseparable industrial division of labor, with countries closely connected with each other through the industrial chains and supply chains. But such a landscape is facing challenges amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

China is the world's second largest economy and the world's largest manufacturing country, with the most complete manufacturing system in the world.

Zhang Yunming said, "China has always worked hard to ensure that industrial and supply chains are public goods and have played an important and positive role in the global industrial chain and supply chain."

According to him, since the COVID-19 outbreak, Chinese enterprises have given full play to their industrial advantages to help the world fight against the pandemic.

From masks, protective clothing, to COVID-19 vaccines, from smartphones to electric vehicles, that have been continuously shipped from China to all over the world, making important contributions to helping other countries revitalize their economies.