On September 4, local time in Geneva, the High-Level Dialogue on “Building Sustainable Business and Brands” was held at the Palace of Nations. The event was co-hosted by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS), the China Association for Standardization (CAS), and the China Association for Standardization Sustainable Business and Brand Working Committee (CAS-SBBC). As the only representative from the automotive industry, Chery joined 23 other companies in signing the Vision Initiative on Building Sustainable Brands, becoming one of the first corporate members to endorse the initiative.

Chery became one of the first enterprises to sign the initiative

       On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the Vision Initiative on Building Sustainable Brands was launched by the China Association for Standardization Sustainable Business and Brand Working Committee (SBBC), among other entities. The initiative not only responds to the international community’s shared expectations for corporate leadership in sustainability, but also serves as a declaration of the Chinese business community’s ambition to advance sustainable business practices.

       By signing the initiative, companies commit to embedding sustainability into their business and brand value creation, and to contributing to the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through responsible practices. The first group of signatories comprises 24 enterprises, including Chery Automobile, ANTA Sports Products Limited, CATL, Longi Green Energy, Haier Group, JD Group, Midea Group, Hisense Group, Baidu, and iFLYTEK . On behalf of the signing companies, Jiang Li, Chairman of CAS-SBBC and General Coordinator (China) of SBLF, presented the initiative to Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Scene of the high-level dialogue on "Building Sustainable Business and Brands"

       Speaking about the significance and original intention of Chery joining the initiative, Yin Tongyue, Chairman of Chery Group stated that sustainability represents not only the defining challenge of our time but also a new benchmark of corporate value. He noted that building sustainable brands requires the integration of technological innovation, green development, social responsibility, and long-term vision to create shared value for both business and society. By joining the Vision Initiative, Chery is embedding sustainability into its corporate strategy, operations, and every product and service it delivers, with the goal of making the world safer, greener, and better.

National flags outside the Palace of Nations in Geneva

       Distinguished attendees included Pedro Manuel Moreno, Deputy Secretary-General of UNCTAD; H.E. Chen Xu, Permanent Representative of the People’s Republic of China to the UN Office at Geneva and Other International Organizations in Switzerland, and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary; Zhang Xiangchen, Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization; Luz Maria de la Mora, Director of UNCTAD’s Division on International Trade and Commodities; Zhang Xiuchun, Secretary-General of CAS; Ralf Peters, Head of UNCTAD’s Trade Analysis Branch and Member of UNFSS Steering Committee; Santiago Fernandez Cordoba, Senior Economist at UNCTAD and Global Coordinator of UNFSS; Jiang Li, Chairman of CAS-SBBC and General Coordinator (China) of SBLF. They were joined by representatives from Chinese companies committed to sustainable business practices and actions.

       As a firm advocate and practitioner of ESG principles, Chery Group remains committed to its philosophy of “In somewhere, For somewhere” –delivering environmentally responsible products and services to global users, contributing to local communities, and fulfilling its role as a responsible global corporate citizen. This year, Chery’s ESG practices have been widely recognized: the group was included in the Fortune China ESG Impact List 2025 and named the only automotive company on the 2024–2025 Forbes China Sustainable Development Industrial Enterprises list.

[Appendix: About the “Vision Initiative on Building Sustainable Brands"]

       The Vision Initiative on Building Sustainable Brands represents a collective commitment from leading Chinese enterprises across various sectors to pursue sustainable development with greater ambition and higher standards, and to grow into world-class companies and brands. Their proactive actions not only make tangible contributions to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), setting an example for others to follow, but also shape a distinctive “Chinese approach” to sustainability that offers valuable insights for the global community.

       The initiative highlights that building sustainable brands requires a systematic integration of sustainability into business and brand value creation. It emphasizes aligning sustainable consumption and production throughout the entire value chain, turning sustainability into a driver of competitiveness and innovation, while contributing meaningfully to the realization of the UN SDGs alongside business growth.

       The initiative further underlines that action to build sustainable brands involves multiple key dimensions of corporate operations: embedding sustainability into corporate strategy; establishing responsible governance and business systems; using technological innovation as the core engine; enhancing the sustainability of products and services; and integrating sustainability into brand building. These actions ensure that sustainability runs as a guiding principle through every stage of value creation, enabling business models of sustainable consumption and production that span the entire value chain.

       In addition, the initiative calls on companies to actively engage in sustainability-related standards development and international cooperation, to foster best practices with global demonstration effect, and to promote multi-stakeholder dialogue and collaboration, together building a truly global ecosystem for sustainable business.