Late autumn in Shanghai brings a touch of coolness.

Yet at the venue of the 8th China International Import Expo, the atmosphere is bustling with activity.

A total of 461 new products, technologies, and services were showcased, with global industry leaders and top companies from various sectors gathering here.

Business developers shuttled between booths, busy exchanging business cards and discussing projects with companies.

Companies are also assessing our professionalism; if we can’t keep up with a few questions or miss the point, their interest wanes significantly, making it difficult to move forward with future cooperation.

So how should you approach these conversations?

Why not start by focusing on several key links in the industrial ecosystem?

Next, I’ll break it down step by step to ensure you have meaningful conversations with companies and uncover new business opportunities.

01 Industrial Chain

A complete industrial chain covers every stage from upstream raw material supply to downstream product delivery to consumers.

At its core lies the division of labor and collaboration within the industry; common stages include resource extraction, manufacturing, distribution, and end-consumer consumption.

Simply put, it’s about clarifying “who is responsible for what.”

The China International Import Expo (CIIE) serves as a live showcase for industrial chain opportunities, bringing together enterprises from every link in the chain—much like laying out pre-assembled parts right before your eyes.

Take the currently trending low-altitude economy as an example: the upstream segment involves design and components; the midstream covers drone system development and manufacturing; and the downstream focuses on unmanned cargo delivery applications.

Take the automotive industry chain as another example: the vehicle brands at the exhibition represent the core of the downstream sector, and by tracing back, you can identify upstream suppliers of rare-earth permanent magnets and midstream automotive chip manufacturers.

When discussing cooperation with companies, you must clearly articulate your needs based on their role in the industrial chain.

For example, when engaging with upstream companies (such as materials or equipment suppliers), you could say, “We have XX midstream manufacturing companies in our region that are currently in need of high-quality raw materials/equipment like yours. We’d like to know if you have any plans to expand regional partnerships?”

02 Supply Chain

Simply put, this refers to the entire chain from a company’s procurement of raw materials, through processing, to the sale of finished products.

The key factors are whether logistics are fast enough and whether the surrounding supporting enterprises are comprehensive enough.

For example, when BYD was selecting a location in Henan, it chose Zhengzhou primarily because of its supply chain advantages.

Within a 40–50 km radius of Zhengzhou, there are over 10 vehicle manufacturers and more than 40 core component suppliers, covering over 90% of the province’s vehicle models and product categories, along with supporting facilities such as the Zhengzhou Intelligent Connected Vehicle Testing Base.

Furthermore, the Zhengzhou Aviation Port Zone features a “four-port integration” transportation system, enabling direct access to ports within 20 minutes.

Ultimately, it boils down to the practical issue of how companies can operate smoothly once they’ve established a presence.

When we discussed supply chains with companies at the China International Import Expo, the focus was on “how to get raw materials and finished products into the hands of manufacturers.”

We also discussed how to leverage logistics to build a more stable supply chain and operate it more cost-effectively.

Regarding raw material procurement, we might say, “For your current core raw materials, we have xxx suppliers locally or in the surrounding area. Would you like us to connect you with them and calculate the cost-effectiveness?”

Another crucial point is supply chain resilience.

The previous pandemic taught us a lesson: some automakers were forced to halt production due to shortages of small parts, with external components unable to enter and finished products unable to leave.

Clearly explain the local and regional coordination mechanisms to ensure companies understand that even in emergencies, their supply of goods will remain uninterrupted.

03 Innovation Chain

Whether for enterprises or research teams, the core objective of building an innovation chain is clear: to rapidly implement collaborations, create tangible market value, and integrate the entire process from R&D to production and sales.

Focus efforts on addressing the needs of the upstream and downstream segments of existing industrial chains—for example, upgrading raw materials upstream and enhancing product performance downstream—to drive technological upgrades and foster integration across different stages.

This effort is inseparable from the support of scientific and educational resources.

Hefei has risen to the forefront of China’s AI industry primarily through the synergistic collaboration of scientific research efforts, focusing on both technological innovation and the commercialization of research outcomes.

Take the Hefei Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data as an example: on one hand, it has established a “joint R&D between the institute and enterprises” model based on the technical needs of local companies.

Many medium-sized enterprises, constrained by limited funds and scale, struggle to bear the costs of long-term technological R&D and thus seek support from the institute.

On the other hand, based on the specific operational needs of enterprises, the institute mobilizes research talent from relevant fields to participate in projects, providing full-cycle collaboration from technical design to implementation testing. This approach not only lowers the barrier to R&D but also ensures that outcomes are closely aligned with practical needs.

For investment promoters, the ability to help enterprises transform technology into products and products into industries serves as a key entry point for partnership discussions; clearly outlining the available university and scientific resources within the region is essential.

04 Capital Chain

The funding chain referred to here is not merely the cash flow of daily operations.

Rather, it follows the industrial and innovation chains, requiring financial backing at every stage—from the initial conception of scientific achievements and their transformation into production, to market-oriented operations and commercialization.

As mentioned in a previous article, while attracting large and strong enterprises, we must also focus on supporting small businesses and fostering new ventures.

It is important to note that small and medium-sized enterprises account for over 90% of the technology sector.

However, when these enterprises are just starting out, they often lack collateral or have not yet established a reputation, and difficulties in securing financing have long plagued them.

We can see that cities such as Shenzhen, Beijing, and Ganzhou in Jiangxi have helped these enterprises solve their financing difficulties through “industrial park loans.”

Taking Ganzhou as an example, to address the challenges of insufficient collateral and lack of credit history, industrial parks act as intermediaries between banks and enterprises. They compile data—such as rent payments, property management fees, water and electricity consumption, and patent-related rewards and penalties—into a “scorecard” and share it with banks.

This quantified data serves as the basis for the enterprise’s credit profile, enabling the exchange of information for credit and opening up a financing channel characterized by “high credit limits, low interest rates, no collateral, and fast approval.”

When speaking with enterprises, you can also mention the establishment of industrial guidance funds that provide support through equity investment and venture capital; or highlight which banks, securities firms, and investment institutions have been introduced to the park, so that enterprises don’t have to run around looking for funding.

05 Service Chain

The service chain discussed here centers on the technology service chain, which helps enterprises turn innovative ideas into reality and convert collaboration opportunities into practical tools.

For example, when new technologies are ready for implementation, we help connect them with local research institutes and provide supporting services such as testing and inspection, as well as intellectual property protection; when mature technologies are ready to be commercialized, we help match them with downstream manufacturing enterprises and expand their market reach.

From small-scale laboratory trials to pilot-scale production and industrialization, resources are available to bridge every stage of the process.

Additionally, we provide efficient and convenient government affairs support, as well as professional third-party services in areas such as legal, financial, and consulting to address business operational challenges.

Businesses can intuitively sense the level of service warmth and the degree of local government commitment.

When introducing the business environment, focus less on “how many policies have been introduced” and more on “how we approach these issues.”

For example, when a company proposes a cutting-edge innovation model, instead of rejecting it outright, we say, “We’ll organize a team of experts to evaluate and validate it, and explore how to adjust regulations to accommodate your business development.”

Ultimately, when discussing industrial chains, supply chains, innovation chains, capital chains, and service chains at the CIIE, the goal is to help enterprises “steadily resolve practical implementation issues and focus their energy on profitable endeavors.”

This approach is both targeted and substantive, and cooperation opportunities will naturally follow along these chains.