Zoom into China's pacesetters in Belt and Road Cooperation
Multiple Chinese localities have gained higher visibility and become pacesetters in advancing the Belt and Road cooperation. Here is a series of interviews with governors or mayors of these regions.
Ten years after the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), multiple Chinese localities have gained higher visibility and become pacesetters in advancing the Belt and Road cooperation.
By looking into a series of interviews done by China's state media with governors or mayors of these regions, PekingEnsight hopes to show you a China profoundly changed by the initiative as well as the diverse ongoing exploration in different localities.
On the whole, the BRI cooperation unfolded in China has mainly revolved around trade and investment facilitation, infrastructure connectivity and institutional improvement. Different localities have all been vying to get involved and find a niche based on their advantages and resource endowment. Such nationwide commitment has opened up new scenarios for the country's reform and opening-up.
CHONGQING
"Through actively participating in the BRI, Chongqing Municipality in southwest China is moving quickly toward the forefront of the country's opening up."
— Chen Mingbo, vice mayor of Chongqing
By proactively dovetailing the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the Yangtze River economic belt with the Belt and Road Initiative, Chongqing has evolved into an international logistics hub in inland China.
As one of the key projects under the BRI, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor is a trade and logistics passage jointly built by provincial-level regions in western China and ASEAN members, and Chongqing serves as its operating center.
Leveraging its strengths in industries such as automobiles and electronic information, the municipality is actively exploring trade opportunities in the BRI markets, especially in ASEAN. It is also advancing the construction of a pilot free trade zone where various institutional innovations have been implemented to facilitate trade, investment, and port clearance, among others, according to the vice mayor.
HAINAN
The tropical island in southern China has a unique role to play: promoting the strategic linkage between the Belt and Road Initiative and the Free Trade Port development
"The province will give full play to its policy and location advantages, continue to expand opening up, and demonstrate the impact of bilateral exchanges with tangible projects."
— Bateer, vice governor of the province
Hainan supports enterprises in increasing their investments in Belt and Road partners including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia, in sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture and education. It also seeks to enhance the links between domestic and international markets and resources.
Hosting international events like the Boao Forum for Asia, the China International Consumer Products Expo and the Hainan Island International Film Festival gives the province an edge in building platforms for cooperative research, dialogues and information sharing, deepening exchanges and cooperation with Belt and Road partners.
SHAANXI
This inland province in northwestern China has a deep bond with the initiative. With its provincial capital Xi'an being the original starting point of the ancient Silk Road, Shaanxi enjoys a distinctive advantage geographically and culturally in advancing the Belt and Road cooperation.
"The province has contributed 36 innovative measures to the country after completing a successful trial run of these measures in a local free trade zone."
— Xu Mingfei, vice governor of Shaanxi
At the China-Central Asia Summit held in May alone, Shaanxi bagged 17 BRI projects, and all of them are progressing smoothly.
Going forward, Shaanxi is seeking to accelerate export-oriented industrial agglomeration, improve the layout of overseas warehouses and overseas import and export commodity storage, processing and distribution centers, and promote the construction of national import trade innovation demonstration zones as well as industrial parks for processing trade.
XINJIANG
Located in northwestern China, Xinjiang has seen unprecedented new opportunities for development in the BRI and its geographical position is an obvious plus.
"Xinjiang's circle of friends has been expanding."
— Yusupjan Mamat, vice chairman of Xinjiang regional government
Xinjiang enterprises have made investments in more than 60 countries and regions and built four overseas economic and trade cooperation parks, and the region has hosted seven China-Eurasia Expos and nearly 50 commodity fairs in the past 10 years.
At present, the region has launched 118 international road transport routes, accounting for one third of China's total, and its second railway line with Kazakhstan has been completed and put into operation. By the end of August, 65,000 China-Europe freight trains had passed through Xinjiang, making up more than half of the country's total.
Xinjiang has unique advantages in not just location but policy and resources, and in recent years it has been accelerating the formation of a modern industrial system supported by major local industries, such as green mining, grain and oil, cotton, textiles and clothing.
FUJIAN
Located at the eastern end of the maritime Silk Road, Fujian is a presence that cannot be ignored.
"So far a four-pronged corridor consisting of sea, land, air and cyberspace connectivity has taken shape in the province."
— Guo Ningning, vice governor of Fujian
A total of 317 enterprises and institutions have joined in a sea transportation network under the maritime Silk Road initiative, which has linked 131 ports in 43 countries and regions.
In terms of air transport connectivity, 85 international flight routes have been opened in Fujian, leading to major cities across the globe. The province has also launched remote sensing satellites and helped build a satellite data service center, providing maritime surveying and mapping services for BRI countries and regions.
ASEAN has become the largest trade partner of the province, its second-largest investment destination, and one of its major sources of foreign investment.
JIANGSU
Situated in the converging area of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, Jiangsu has seen fruitful results and will continue to contribute its part to the joint implementation of the BRI.
Taking the building of the Belt and Road "converging point" as the overall plan, Jiangsu has carried out a series of campaigns, such as improving the transportation systems, deepening international production capacity cooperation, promoting Silk Road trade, upgrading major international cooperation parks, and enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges to further promote high-level opening-up, said Ma Xin, executive vice governor of Jiangsu.
From January to September, a total of 1,667 China-Europe and China-Asia freight trains were operated in Jiangsu, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, and the province has opened 24 China-Europe and China-Asia railway routes, covering more than 20 countries in Europe and Asia.
The economic powerhouse has dedicated itself to deepening international cooperation on production capacity, seeking to nurture more leading firms in this regard, and building more cooperation platforms such as a technology transfer centre between China and Central and Eastern European Countries. The province now boasts of 146 pairs of sister cities with the BRI partner countries.
Tapping into its geographical advantages, Jiangsu has been promoting the integration of the Belt and Road construction, the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, facilitating the flow of people, logistics, and data between different regions.
SHANGHAI
A definite vanguard in exploring high-standard opening-up, Shanghai has implemented a batch of demonstration projects on the BRI and will continue to contribute to promoting the initiative's high-quality development.
"To deepen economic, trade and investment cooperation, Shanghai has constantly innovated work methods."
— Hua Yuan, vice mayor of Shanghai
Several recent innovations include setting up a comprehensive service center and launching a special mechanism to promote the communication of government, enterprises and enterprise-related service providers.
To meet the needs of the financial industry, Shanghai has comprehensively improved its professional service capabilities and strove to provide high-level service support for the joint building of the BRI.
Looking ahead, Shanghai will continue to promote the two-way opening of the financial market and build an investment and financing center for the BRI.
Compiled by Cleo Yao
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