On May 18, the 2026 Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, under the themed “Connecting the Future Through Innovation”. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng attended the opening ceremony and delivered remarks.

Yolanda Díaz Pérez, Spanish Second Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor and Social Economy, attended and addressed the opening ceremony. Stephen Jackson, the UN Resident Coordinator in China, and Xi Guohua, Chairman of CITIC Group, also delivered speeches at the opening ceremony.

Ren Hongbin, Chairman of the CCPIT, presided over the opening ceremony and released the 2026 Beijing Initiative for Global Trade and Investment Promotion Summit on behalf of the business representatives attending the event. Through thorough communication and consultation, the participating business communities from various countries reached broad consensus and put forward five proposals in the Initiative: First, to foster new quality productive forces to expand new space for global economic growth; Second, to promote open cooperation in industrial and supply chains to build a secure, stable, efficient, and unimpeded global industrial ecosystem; Third, to empower economic and trade cooperation through artificial intelligence and to jointly create a new ecosystem of digital and intelligent development; Fourth, to advance the deep integration of the services and manufacturing sectors and to lead global industrial quality improvement and upgrading; and Fifth, to strengthen global business community cooperation and to promote sustainable global development.

During the plenary session, Chinese and foreign guests conducted in-depth discussions on the topic of “New Quality Productive Forces Embedded in Global Industrial and Supply Chain Cooperation”, calling on global enterprises to deepen scientific and technological innovation collaboration and industrial opening-up and cooperation, and to build a secure, stable, mutually beneficial industrial and supply chain system.

The Summit also held two parallel forums. Parallel Forum I, themed “AI Empowering Global Economic and Trade Cooperation”, discussed cutting-edge topics such as improving trade efficiency through smart technologies, data governance, and bridging the digital divide. Parallel Forum II, themed “Advancing Industrial Upgrading Through Deeper Integration Between Services and Manufacturing”, focused on empowering the manufacturing sector through services and driving transformation through innovation, and explored new paths for industrial synergy. Representatives engaged in in-depth discussions on the above-mentioned topics, contributing business insights to fostering new drivers for world economic growth and promoting global sustainable development.

Over 800 participants from 51 countries and regions attended the Summit, including representatives of foreign government departments, trade promotion institutions and business associations, diplomatic envoys in China, representatives of international organizations, and representatives of Chinese and foreign enterprises.