CCIEE Holds the Think Tank Forum on Silk Road Economic Belt in Lanzhou

On the afternoon of 8 July 2016, CCIEE held the Think Tank Forum on Silk Road Economic Belt in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, on the theme of “Connectivity between Asian and European Economies”. Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of CCIEE Zhang Xiaoqiang and Vice-Governor of Gansu Province Li Rongcan addressed the opening ceremony. Fifteen representatives from Chinese ministries and local governments, foreign embassies in China and thinks tanks in China, Turkey, Bulgaria, Pakistan and Iran spoke at the forum. They discussed the new space of industrial and infrastructure cooperation, the promotion of trade and investment facilitation, and Gansu’s new strategy for more deepened participation in the “Belt and Road” initiative, and offered their suggestions on how the Silk Road Economic Belt should be built.

Mr. Zhang Xiaoqiang noted in his address that Gansu was the first Chinese province to have worked out a Silk Road Economic Belt construction plan. Over the past three years, in keeping with its strategic positioning as “an important western gateway for China’s opening up, a strategic base of sub-regional cooperation, and a key part of the “Silk Road Economic Belt”, as prescribed by the central government, the Province has done its best to build the Gansu section, or the golden part, of the Belt. Gansu has done some creative work to promote policy coordination, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds. As a result, breakthroughs have been made in some major projects, and many good practices and models are to be summarized and promoted. Looking ahead, a lot more needs to be done, and all the stakeholders need to work in concert to promote continued progress in building the “Belt and Road” and make them win-win, open, green and sustainable.

Li Rongcan said that cooperation for development and mutual benefit are the main purpose of building the Silk Road Economic Belt and the common aspiration of countries along the Road. In active response to the “Belt and Road” initiative and upholding the core values of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, the Gansu Province will step up external cooperation and exchanges with focus on promoting policy coordination, facility connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and people-to-people bonds. It will speed up the construction of the golden section of the Belt in Gansu and work together with other countries and regions along the Belt and Road to identify the converging points of interests, create highlights of cooperation, and open up a new starting point for win-win cooperation.

About 200 people attended the forum, representing foreign diplomatic missions, international organizations and chambers of commerce in China, local governments of Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, domestic and foreign enterprises and colleges and universities.