XINHUAVisitorstastewinefromAzerbaijanattheChina-EurasiaExpoinUrumqi,northwestChina’sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,onAugust30
WANGHAIRONGGurbanGurbanov(right),DirectorofAhalsiykhatStateTravelCo.ofTurkmenistan,talkstoavisitoronAugust31AnelegantlycarvedwhiteboothdecoratedinvermillionimmediatelygrabbedtheattentionofvisitorssteppingintoanexhibitionhallattheSixthChina-EurasiaExpo.Bottlesofwinesparkledonwell-illuminatedcountersinfrontofthebooth.Avarietyofotherproductssuchasnuts,candyandfruitsfromAzerbaijanwereondisplay,wooingpassersby.
Theexpo,heldinUrumqi,capitalofnorthwestChina’sXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,fromAugust30toSeptember1,wasthemedTheBeltandRoad—ExtensiveConsultation,JointContributionandSharedBenefits.TheexpoofferedamajorplatformforpromotingtheBeltandRoadInitiative,whichiscelebratingitsfifthanniversaryafterbeingproposedbyChinesePresidentXiJinpingin2013.
Sincetheinitiativewaslaunched,ChinahasdeepenedpragmaticcooperationwithcountriesalongtheBeltandRoadroutes,yieldingsubstantialachievements,saidVicePremierHuChunhua,addressingtheopeningceremonyoftheexpoonAugust30.
HuexpressedChina’shopetofurtherexpandcooperationwithothercountries,andencouragedenterprisesinotherEurasiancountriestoworkmorecloselywiththeirChinesecounterparts.
Businessmatchmaking
TheexpoprovidedanopportunityforChineseandforeignfirmstoshowcasetheirproductsandformpartnerships.Itdrewmorethan704companiesandavarietyofvendorsandpurchasersfrom35countriesandregionsalongtheBeltandRoad.
Sedmostafa,anexhibitorrepresentingIraniancompanyAraPersianLuxuriousArt,displayedexquisitePersianhandicrafts,tapestriesandpaintings.Holdingathincopperplatewithbeautifulpatternsinwhiteandvariousshadesofblue,hesaidthatitwasexclusivelyhandmade,andpaintedbyhand.
Hewasbusyansweringvisitors’inquiriesuntilshortlybeforetheexpo’sconclusion.“Theexpohasbeenverysuccessfulforus,”hesaidduringabriefpause.“Wehavemetgoodcustomers.TheexpoisawonderfulopportunityforustopromotePersianarts.Chinesepeopleareinterestedinourproducts,artandhistory.”
HetoldBeijingReviewthathehadsetupappointmentstodiscussagreementswithseveralChinesebusinesspeoplewhowereinterestedinbecominghiscompany’sdistributorsinChina.Headdedthatsincelastyear,hiscompanyhasbeensellingproductsinChinesecitiessuchasShanghaiandGuangzhou,whichhavebeenwell-received.
ZhangHanlei,alocalfromUrumqi,wasattractedbytheplate.HetoldBeijingReviewthathelikesPersianhandicrafts,andwasconsideringbuyingsomethingforhisfriend,whowasgoingtomarryandmoveintoanewhome.
Amiddle-agedUygurwomanhagglingoverthepriceofathickrugsaidthatshelikedtherugbecauseitwaswovenwithqualitysilkandhadanicedesign.
BalashNiftaliyer,anexhibitorwithAzerbaijanHazelnutExporterCo.,alsocametotheexpotofindbusinessopportunities.HesaidthathiscompanyhasbeensellingtoRussiaandotherEuropeancountriesandwouldnowliketotapintotheChinesemarket,especiallythemarketinXinjiang.
Abowlofhazelnutswassetoutonthecounterforcustomerstotaste.Onewomansaiditsretailpricewasreasonable.ShesuggestedNiftaliyeropenastoreonChina’secommerceplatformTaobao.
AnexportmanagerfromAzerbaijan-basedAznarCJSC,NataliaPakhaeva,wasoneofthebusiestpeoplethroughouttheexpo.Sheservedpurepomegranatejuicetoeagervisitorssurroundinghercounter.“Thejuicetastesverygood,”saidamiddle-agedcustomer.PakhaevasaidthatthecompanyhasbeensellingthejuiceataShanghaimarketfortwoyears,nowtheywanttobringittoXinjiang.
SomeofthesecompaniesweresuccessfulinseekingChinesepartners.Duringthethreedayexpo,25companiesinXinjiangsigned29tradeagreementswithcompaniesfrom13countriesalongtheBeltandRoad,withatotalvalueof10.48billionyuan($1.5billion),saidHaderbekHamza,ViceChairmanofXinjiangUygurAutonomousRegion,atapressconferenceontheexpo’sresults.Inaddition,hesaidthatagreementsontwojointprojectsweresignedbetweenXinjiangfirmsandtheirforeigncounterpartsalongtheBeltandRoad,totaling28.96billionyuan($4.2billion).
Tourismcooperation
Commoditytraderswerenottheonlyonesseekingbusinesspartnersattheexpo.“TurkmenistanregardstheChina-EurasiaExpoasanimportantcooperativeplatform,andtheheadsofsixtravelagenciescametoUrumqifromTurkmenistantoseekpartnersthroughthisplatform,”saidChinarRustamova,TurkmenistanAmbassadortoChina,atasubforumontourismcooperationbetweenthetwocountriesduringtheexpo,wherebothsidesexpressedawishtoexpandtourismcooperation.
GurbanGurbanov,DirectoroftheAhalsiykhatStateTravelCo.,wasfromoneofthesixtravelagenciesinattendance.Atthetourismbooth,hewasbusyreceivingvisitors,whoenjoyedposingwithhim,inhishugewhitefurhatandcheerfulredgown.
TheboothwasdecoratedwithpicturesoftouristattractionsinTurkmenistan.Pointingatthepictures,Gurbanovsaid,“ChinesepeopleareinterestedinTurkmenistan;theylikehorses.”
HewasreferringtotheAkhal-TekehorsesnativetoTurkmenistan,whichareprizedfortheirgracefulfigure,charmingmetallicsheen,speed,stamina,andresilienceinharshnaturalconditions.InChinese,thestallions’nameliterallymeanssweatingblood,whichreferstothefactthattheybecomepink-skinnedafterexercising.Inancienttimes,Chineseemperorsreceivedsuchsteedsaspreciousgiftsandcherishedthem.
GurbanovsaidhiscompanyhaspartneredwithsomeChinesetravelagenciesandexpectstoexpandthecooperation.Heusedtheexpoasanopportunitytopresenthiscountrytopotentialtouristsandbusinesspartners.
TravelbrochuresandleafletsinChinesewereavailableatthebooth.AnitineraryinonebrochureincludedavisittoAshgabat,thecountry’scapitalknownforhavingthelargestconcentrationofwhitemarblebuildingsintheworld,aswellastoahorsestableandtheDarwazagascrater,wheregasleakedfromlandsubsidenceisincineratedtopreventgaspoisoning.Thefire,saidtohavebeenignitedin1971bySovietgeologists,hasbeenburningsince,becomingatouristattraction.
AtthesametimethatTurkmenistanwelcomesChinesetouriststothecountry,XinjiangisalsolookingtoattracttouristsfromotherpartsofChinaandabroad.
“TurkmenpeoplealsoliketovisitChina,andmanyofthemgosightseeingandshoppinginUrumqi,”Gurbanovsaid.
Withsplendidsceneryandarichculture,Xinjianghasbecomeapopulartouristdestination.Inthefirstsevenmonthsoftheyear,morethan78.3milliontouriststraveledtoXinjiang,anincreaseof38.7percentyearonyear,spendingover121.4billionyuan($17.6billion),a40.7-percentincreaseyearonyear,accordingtostatisticsfromXinjiang’stourismdevelopmentcommission.
“XinjiangandTurkmenistanhaveformedadeepconnectionthroughhorsebackriding,withAkhal-TekehorsesactingasemissariesoffriendlyrelationsbetweenChinaandTurkmenistan,”saidHouHanmin,headofthecommission,duringthesub-forum.Shehopestourismindustriesinbothcountriesdeepencooperationandcreateasaferandmorecomfortableenvironmentfortourists.
Governmentconsensus
ChinaandcountriesalongtheBeltandRoadshareadesiretoexpandcooperation.Since2013,China’spublicandprivatesectorshaveestablishedmulti-levelmechanismsforcooperationwithcountriesandregionsalongtheBeltandRoad,saidFuZiying,ViceMinisterofCommerce.
China’stradeandinvestmentcooperationwithcountriesandregionsalongtherouteshasyieldedfruitfulresults,Fusaid.Headdedthatinthefirsthalfoftheyear,thecommodityimportandexportvolumebetweenChinaandcountriesandregionsalongtheroutesreached$605billion,anincreaseof18percentyearonyear.Moreover,Chineseenterpriseshaveadded$7.68billionininvestmenttothesecountriesandregions.
FazalHadiMuslimyar,ChairmanoftheHouseofElders,theupperhouseofAfghanistan’sNationalAssembly,saidattheexpo’sopeningceremonythatit“isnotjustaplatformforthedevelopmentofUrumqiandChinabutisalsoaverygoodstageforregionaldevelopment.”
AnnouncingthatAfghanistanisinfullsupportoftheBeltandRoadInitiative,heinvitedChineseinvestorstoinvestintohiscountry.
“Afghandryfruitandsaffronareveryfamousintheregion;theyareevenexportedbeyondAsiatomostEuropeancountries.Afghanistanhasworld-classrugsandhandicrafts.TherearemanyopportunitiestoinvestintheinfrastructureofAfghanistan,”headded.
“IamdeeplyconvincedthattheChinaEurasiaExpowillbeanotherstepforward,contributingtoachievingthegoalsoftheBeltandRoadInitiative,bringingspecificoutcomesandbroaderregionalbenefits,”saidMaiaTskitishvili,VicePrimeMinisterofGeorgiaattheopeningceremony.
Shesaidthatconcretestepshavebeentakentofacilitatetradeintheregion.TheChinaGeorgiaFreeTradeAgreementwentintoeffectonJanuary1.Inaddition,GeorgiaandChina’sHongKongSpecialAdministrativeRegionrecentlysignedafreetradeagreement,whichisexpectedtotakeeffectbytheendoftheyear.
TradeflowbetweenChinaandGeorgiahasincreasedsignificantlyinrecentyearsandtotaled$939.54millionin2017.Additionally,ChinaisoneofthelargestwinemarketsforGeorgia.
Tskitishviliconcludedthattheexpoisanexcellentopportunitytofurtherenhancetradeconnectivity,people-to-peoplecontactsandbusinessrelations.
CopyeditedbyRebecaToledo
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