Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine:

Secretary Liu just mentioned that the Chang'an China-Europe freight trainservicein Shaanxi has achieved positive results during thepandemic. How will Shaanxi seize the opportunity of the Belt and Road to expand its opening up, and what other measures will be taken? Thank you.

Liu Guozhong:

I'd like to thank the journalist from Hong Kong Bauhinia Magazine. Mr. Zhao will answer this question.

Zhao Yide:

Thank you very much for your interest in the Chang'an freight train service. Just now, Secretary Liu presented a general introduction. I would like to add some details. The China-Europe freight trains have indeed attracted much attention from home and abroad. It is the flagship program and the top brand for jointly building the Belt and Road. In recent years, we have conscientiously implemented the important instructions of General Secretary Xi Jinping on actively integrating into the Belt and Road initiative. We have taken the China-Europe freight train service (Chang'an) as a key driver and a powerful engine to expand Shaanxi's opening up, and also made every effort to promote the rapid, sound and high-quality development of Shaanxi.

At present, the Chang'an freight train service has 15 domestic routes and 15 international lines. Last year, it operated 3,720 trains, with a cargo volume of 2.811 million metric tons, ranking the first in China in terms of shipping volume, loaded container ratio, and freight volume. It has managed to achieve growth against the prevailing trends. It is not only a "golden train" that promotes unimpeded trade between Asia and Europe and ensures the security of the global supply chain, but has also become a "life train" for the joint international fight against the pandemic and protecting the health of people around the world. It has been widely praised at home and abroad. From January to May this year, 1,512 trains were operated with a cargo volume of 1.115 million metric tons, which continued to maintain a growth trend. Currently, the focus of our strategic position is to accelerate construction of the China-Europe freight train (Xi'an) assembly center. In accordance with the overall goals of consolidation, stability and improvement, and relying on the Xi'an International Port Station, which is the largest international hub station in northwestern China, we will integrate the functions of comprehensive bonded areas, comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zones and other platforms. We will strengthen construction of informatization and intelligent infrastructure, build a guarantee system providing mutual support for innovation chains, industrial chains, supply chains, data chains, financial chains and policy chains, and steadily promote the market-oriented operation and high-quality development of the Chang'an freight train service. At the same time, we will promote the joint development of the port industry, port trade and port city in the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park, and build an important trade and logistics hub for the Belt and Road.

As we all know, Shaanxi was the starting point of the Silk Road in the past, and now it is an important node of the Belt and Road. General Secretary Xi Jinping called on us to "create a highland for inland reform and opening up" and provide Shaanxi a higher position and more glorious mission in reform and opening up in the new era. We will keep in mind the general secretary's instructions, seize the major opportunity of jointly building the Belt and Road, work more consciously to build a new pattern of development and earnestly implement the requirements for policy communication, infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people connectivity. We also must pay the same attention to internal and external development, platforms and carriers, hardware and software, and foreign trade and foreign investment. We will build the province into an important fulcrum of the domestic circulation and a strategic link of domestic and international circulations. We will strive to make us more famous and influential as China's important window of overall opening up in the new era.

Specifically, we will make efforts to seek breakthroughs in four aspects.

First, we will seek breakthroughs in building channels. We need to focus on our many advantages, such as being located in China's geographic center, having an inland port with both international and domestic port codes, and having the largest railway logistics distribution center in Asia. We will accelerate construction of the multiple-cross railway network and highway network, connect the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in the west, and improve road access for the new Asia-Europe continental bridge. We will make the aviation and logistics network cover the whole world, and build Asia-Europe land-sea trade routes that connect eastern, central and western China, that connect land, sea and air, that are open to Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia, and have high efficiency, low cost and excellent services.

Second, we will seek breakthroughs on strong platforms. We need to focus on the three major experimental demonstration platforms of the Free Trade Zone, the Airport Economic Zone and the agriculture demonstration base of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); the three major ports of aviation, railway and electronics; and the three major international exhibitions of the Silk Fair, the China Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair and the Eurasian Economic Forum. We will improve their functions and capacities, jointly promote the construction of international cooperation industrial parks and major production capacity cooperation projects, and build an important industrial base of the Belt and Road.

Third, we will seek breakthroughs through deep exchanges. We will make use of our advantages in science, education and cultural resources, and further deepen and expand foreign cooperation and exchanges in many fields such as education, science and technology, culture, tourism, cultural relics and archaeology, public health, sports events and the construction of friendship cities. We will build an important people-to-people exchange base for the Belt and Road.

Fourth, we will seek breakthroughs in creating an optimal environment. We will deepen reforms to streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services. We will speed up digital transformation, establish good policies, reduce approval procedures, provide more services and cut administration costs. We will create a market-oriented, law-based and international business environment, so that key elements including talents, capital and data gather in Shaanxi, rapidly develop and continue to nurture new technologies, new business forms and new models. Thank you.

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