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E-mail China.org.cn, July 16, 2024
Shou Xiaoli:
The last question, please.
The Poster News APP:
Gansu has served as a strategic gateway and important trade hub on the Silk Road since ancient times. How will the vibrant landscape of Gansu be depicted in the future development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)? Thank you.
Ren Zhenhe:
Thank you for your question. The BRI presents Gansu with its greatest opportunity. As we all know, Gansu has embraced openness throughout its history. The Hexi Corridor is a major channel open to the west, while the ancient Silk Road stretched over 1,600 kilometers through Gansu, accounting for one-fifth of its total length. Some say that Xinjiang is too far away, but I say that it is not Xinjiang that is too far away, it is Gansu that is too long. Since the Han and Tang dynasties, goods from the East and West have been distributed and circulated in Gansu. This led to a seamless integration and fusion of Eastern and Western cultures within the province, creating a situation whereby envoys and merchants were constantly crossing paths, and trade flourished.
In recent years, we have seized the greatest opportunity brought by the BRI, actively integrated into and served the new development paradigm of "dual circulation," which takes the domestic market as the mainstay while allowing domestic and international markets to reinforce each other, and accelerated the construction of a new open pattern that takes into account both internal and external factors, integrates land and sea, and is westward-oriented and multi-pronged. At present, a total of 21 international freight train routes have been opened and put into operation, covering more than 20 countries and regions in Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere. Gansu's "steel camel caravans" are fully loaded with goods and frequently travel between BRI partner countries, and the total value of imports and exports to BRI partner countries accounts for more than 70% of Gansu's total foreign trade. In recent years, Gansu's agricultural product exports have made significant breakthroughs every year. Unique agricultural products from Gansu, such as highland summer vegetables, Lanzhou lily bulbs, Jingning apples, Pingliang red cattle, Dingxi wide noodles and Longnan olive oil have not only gained popularity domestically, but have also crossed the oceans and been served on tables overseas.
Next, we will be guided by the eight major measures for supporting high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and focus on the following three aspects. In terms of strengthening channels, we will actively integrate into the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, vigorously promote the construction of railways, highways and airports, expand the hub functions of international land ports and airports, and actively build the Air Silk Road. In terms of expanding foreign trade, we will carry out four major actions to cultivate foreign trade markets, improve new foreign trade business forms, build foreign trade bases and expand foreign trade products. We will also vigorously expand the markets of the Belt and Road partner countries and RCEP countries, expand exports of specialty products, continue to expand the scale of processing trade and trade in services, encourage enterprises to go out and explore overseas markets, and improve the quality and effectiveness of international freight trains. In terms of promoting cooperation, we will deepen exchanges and cooperation with Belt and Road partner countries in the fields of sci-tech innovation, digital development, cultural tourism, medical health and ecological protection, accelerate the construction of Dunhuang studies and world cultural heritage protection models, hold the Silk Road (Dunhuang) International Cultural Expo and China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair, expand people-to-people exchanges and friendly interactions, open our arms wider to embrace the "greatest opportunity," and present Gansu to the world to let the world know Gansu.
Friends from the media, most people have the impression that Gansu is far away. What I want to say here is that Gansu is not actually that far away. If you visit Gansu, taking the provincial capital Lanzhou as an example, it takes less than one hour by plane from Xi'an, Yinchuan, Chengdu, Chongqing and other surrounding cities, and only two hours from major domestic cities such as Beijing, Nanjing, Wuhan and Zhengzhou. Even provincial capitals such as Harbin, Guangzhou and Fuzhou, which are considered to be farther away, can be reached in just three hours. We welcome everyone to visit Gansu, appreciate the magnificence of the Loess Plateau, the vast grasslands, the boundless rocky areas, and the pure glaciers, experience the profoundness of Chinese civilization, and the diverse charm of Gansu.
We are waiting for you in Gansu. Gansu welcomes you. Thank you.
Shou Xiaoli:
Thank you, Mr. Ren, all of the speakers, and all of the journalists taking part today. Today's briefing is hereby concluded. Goodbye.
Translated and edited by Xu Xiaoxuan, Guo Yiming, Zhu Bochen, Cui Can, Mi Xingang, Xiang Bin, Liu Caiyi, Lin Liyao, Wang Ziteng, Yan Bin, Wang qian, Ma Yujia, Zhang Junmian, Zhou Jing, Li Xiao, Liu Sitong, Huang Shan, Wang Yiming, Wang Wei, Li Huiru, David Ball, and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.
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