China rolled out an action plan last month to accelerate the development of digital and intelligent supply chains as part of broader efforts to modernise them.

The action plan, jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce (english.mofcom.gov.cn) and seven other departments, advocates adopting technologies such as AI, IoT and blockchain to drive digitalisation, intelligence and visualisation of supply chains.

The plan vows to improve agricultural supply chains, develop intelligent manufacturing supply chains, strengthen supply chain integration in the wholesale sector, optimise retail supply chains, and reduce logistics costs, according to the commerce ministry.

It comes as the country is stepping up efforts to improve the systems for enhancing the resilience and security of industrial and other supply chains, promote full integration between the real economy and the digital economy, and encourage enterprises to apply digital and intelligent technologies to transform and upgrade traditional industries.

The plan aims to establish replicable models for building digital and intelligent supply chains, with deeply embedded, intelligent and self-supporting systems operational across the country’s major industries and key fields by 2030.

It also targets nurturing about 100 national enterprises in the digital and intelligent supply chain sector by 2030.

• The Hainan Free Trade Port (www.ehainan.gov.cn/hainanfreetradeport.html) is set to begin independent customs operations by the end of the year. In 2020, China released a master plan to build the whole of Hainan Island into a globally influential and high-level free trade port by the middle of the century.