On December 2, 2023, coinciding with the UAE National Day and the Leaders’ Summit on Climate Action at the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), the Global Value Chain Development Report 2023 was grandly released at the China Pavilion in the core area of the conference venue—Expo City Dubai. Mr. Robert Koopman, former Chief Economist of the WTO and Chair of the Advisory Committee for the Global Value Chain Development Report, and Professor Zhongxiu Zhao, President of the University of International Business and Economics (UIBE) and Founding Dean of the Global Value Chain Institute, delivered congratulatory speeches via video. Distinguished experts and scholars attending the report launch ceremony and delivering remarks included Mr. Wang Yi, Vice Chairman of the National Expert Committee on Climate Change and Standing Committee Member of the 14th National People's Congress; Professor Pan Jiahua, Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Professor Grild Merethe Hegglund from the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, Norway; Professor Xue Jinjun from Nagoya University, Japan, and Academic Leader of UIBE’s 111 High-End Foreign Expert Program; Ms. Wu Changhua, Director of the Rifkin Office China, Executive Chair of the Asia-Pacific Water Forum, and Senior Advisor to the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs; Mr. Tu Jianjun, President of Agora Energiewende Germany; and Mr. Tang Renhu, Chairman of Beijing SinoCarbon Innovation & Investment Co., Ltd. Ms. RanWang Deputy Editor of the report and Associate Research Fellow at the UIBE Global Value Chain Institute, presented the key research findings on behalf of the editorial team.

In speech, Former WTO Chief Economist Mr. Robert Koopman stated that the Global Value Chain Development Report 2023 is a timely, significant, and authoritative research report that deeply reflects the latest trends in global value chains. Its chapters on energy security (Chapter 3), global carbon emissions accounting (Chapter 5), and green global value chains (Chapter 6) closely align with the themes of COP28. Mr. Koopman enthusiastically recommended the Report 2023 to experts, scholars, and entrepreneurs attending the conference and reaffirmed his endorsement of its research.

UIBE President Zhongxiu Zhao emphasized that the greening of global value chains is a critical theme of the Global Value Chain Development Report 2023. Building low-carbon, green, inclusive, and sustainable global value chains will become the new direction for global value chain development. Currently, over 130 countries and regions have proposed carbon neutrality goals, demonstrating that addressing climate change and advancing green development have become a global consensus. This will inevitably influence the future direction of global industrial development and layout through global value chain division. Despite current external shocks and uncertainties, we believe that constructing a more open, shared, resilient, and sustainable global value chain is a shared aspiration worldwide. UIBE will continue to advance research in the field of global value chains, particularly making greater contributions to the study of green global value chains.

Deputy Editor Ran Wang highlighted in her presentation that UIBE, as the leading institution and initiator of the Global Value Chain Development Report series, has been committed to deepening and expanding research in the field of global value chains. Both climate change and global value chains are global issues, and the Report 2023 is the first to integrate the two, achieving significant breakthroughs in topics such as the global carbon emissions accounting framework, new mechanisms for global climate finance, and the greening of global value chains. Climate change will remain a key focus of the Report, which will continue to leverage its influence and cohesion as an authoritative industry report to better serve global climate action.