A high-profile International Seminar on the Silk Road Economic Belt has kicked off in Urumqi, the capital of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
High-profile int'l seminar on Silk Road Economic Belt kicks off in Xinjiang.
The Chinese government has said that all countries are welcome to take part in trade and investment for the building of the Silk Road economic belt. The idea was first proposed by Chinese president Xi Jinping last year. And at the seminar today, China for the first time defined the boundaries of the economic belt.
Strengthening economic ties along the route is seen as an opportunity for China to continue its opening up to the world and maintain economic advances. Statistics show the trade volume between China and countries along the economic belt in 2013 hit $600 billion, taking up 15 percent of China’s total foreign trade.
"The Silk Road economic belt goes through 18 European and Asian countries, involving nearly three billion people from 40 countries. It has great significance in the world political and economic landscape. The seminar will definitely play crucial roles in promoting strengthened cooperation and dialogue among countries and regions along the economic belt," Xinjiang Party secretary Zhang Chunxian said.
