The 17th Lanting Forum was held Wednesday in Beijing. The theme of the forum is the ‘5th China-Eurasia Expo: Discussion, Joint Development and Sharing the Silk Road: Opportunities and the Future.’ Foreign Minister Wang Yi and Governor of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Shohrat Zakir were the keynote speakers.
Diplomats, senior officials and entrepreneurs attended the Lanting Forum at the Foreign Ministry. Their discussions focused on the upcoming 5th China-Eurasia Expo, which will be held in Xinjiang this September. The expo is aimed at implementing China’s plans for a modern Silk Road economic belt in the country's northwest.
The 17th Lanting Forum has been held on Wednesday in Beijing. The theme of the forum is the
“China and 17 countries along the Belt and Road have co-established 46 cooperation zones. By 2015, bilateral trade volume between China and Belt and Road Initiative participating countries had exceeded one trillion US dollars. Participating countries are trying to enhance trade and investment facilitation, and to build various types of FTA or integration processes,” Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi said.
The Silk Road economic belt aims to revive the ancient Silk Road linking China with Central Asia and Europe to develop political and economic ties. Xinjiang is home to China’s most western section of the Eurasian Land Bridge, a transcontinental rail route connecting east Asia and west Europe.
The 5th China-Eurasia Expo is the first to be held since Xinjiang is defined as the core area for the Silk Road Economic Belt.
“Since 2011, four sessions of the China-Eurasia Expo have been held. Nearly 30 Chinese and foreign leaders and heads of international orgazations, as well as more than 700 Chinese and Foreign ministerial officials attended the expo. Foreign trade volume has amounted to U.S.$30 billion, and 70 percent of signed projects have been implemented,” said Shohrat Zakir, governor of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Many say this year’s expo will bring more opportunities for industrial capacity cooperation.
“More than 70 countries and regions have supported China’s proposed Belt and Road Initiative. More than 30 countries and international organizations have signed intergovernmental cooperation agreements with China to co-establish the Belt and Road. That has laid a solid foundation for countries in the region to deepen business and trade ties. And the expo will help further promote practical cooperation in this field,” said Li Jingyuan, secretary-general of China-Eurasia Expo Secretariat.
The 5th China-Eurasia Expo this year coincides with the beginning of the 13th Five-Year Plan from 2016 to 2020. The expo is widely considered as an economic impetus for the region, particularly amid Xinjiang’s growing influence on the Silk Road economic belt.
