On the morning of September 20th, the Opening Ceremony of the 17th Western China International Fair and the 9th Western China International Cooperation Forum were held in Chengdu.
President Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the Opening of the Fair.
Mr. Hu Chunhua, Member of the Central Politburo of the Communist Party of China and Vice Premier of the State Council, read out the congratulatory letter and delivered a keynote speech. Mr. Di Maio, Deputy Prime Minister of Italy and Minister of Economic Development, Labor and Social Policy, and Mr. Pun, Vice President of Nepal, delivered keynote speeches respectively. Mr. Gao Yunlong, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Chairman of the National Federation of Industry and Commerce, Ms. Sisay, Vice Chairman of the Laos National Assembly, Mr. Dion, Vice Chairman of the Cambodian Senate, Mr. Arias, Former President of Costa Rica, and Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, Former Prime Minister of Japan, attended the Opening Ceremony and the Forum.
Mr. Peng Qinghua, Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC, and Mr. Wang Bingnan, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, delivered speeches respectively. Mr. Yin Li, Vice Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC, Governor of People’s Government of Sichuan Province, presided over the Opening Ceremony and the Forum. Mr. Chen Wu, Vice Secretary And Chairman of the Party Committee of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Ms. Zhang Xuan, Director of the Standing Committee of Chongqing Municipal People's Congress, Mr. Tang Renjian, Vice Secretary of Gansu Provincial Committee of the CPC, Governor of Gansu Province, Mr. Gao Yu, Member of the Party Committee of the State Council, Director of Supervision Office of the General Office of the State Council, Mr. Li Xiaolin, Chairman of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and Mr. Deng Xiaogang, Vice Secretary of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the CPC, attended the meeting.
Mr. Hu Chunhua said that the congratulatory letter of President Xi Jinping has fully affirmed the significance of the Western Fair and embodied the great importance attached by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to the Western Fair, which will play an important role in guiding the successful launching of the Fair and the International Cooperation Forum.
Mr. Hu Chunhua pointed out that the Chinese government has been implementing the strategy of developing the western regions in the past 20 years. The west has witnessed tremendous changes especially in the past five years as an eye-catching sector in the Chinese economic map. As such, it is embracing a brighter future. At present, the development of the western regions has been faced with a new historical starting-point, in the same vein the development of open economy has ushered in new opportunities. The Chinese government will continue to create conditions to support the fast development in the western regions, forge new vantage points for opening-up of inland, promote connectivity under the framework of the “Belt and Road” construction, strengthen the leading position of innovation, foster a sound business environment, so as to secure mutual benefit and win-win in a greater scope and a higher level. As an indispensable part of China's opening-up, the western regions will entertain closer connectivity with the world economy, and its path towards opening-up will become wider and wider.
Mr. Peng Qinghua welcomed the guests on behalf of the provincial party committee and People’s Government of Sichuan Province. He said that President Xi Jinping has sent the congratulatory letter to the Western Fair as a gesture of showing great concern towards the opening-up and development of the western regions and support for the work of Sichuan. We must live up to his expectation, bear in mind his words and forge ahead with gratitude. As a result, we should make the Western Fair an opportunity for us to make contributions to the opening-up pattern of our country featuring linkage between land and sea, and mutual support between the east and west.
Mr. Peng Qinghua said that Sichuan is an important node in the construction of the “Belt and Road”. Endowed with rich natural resources, its economic development is in good shape, with distinct advantages in opening-up and unprecedented opportunities for development. We warmly welcome investors at home and abroad to participate in the infrastructure construction for connectivity of Sichuan Province, so as to jointly promote major projects such as airports, highways and railways; to participate in the transformation and upgrading of Sichuan's industries, so as to create world-class industrial clusters with regional characteristics; to participate in the revitalization of rural areas in Sichuan, so as to jointly restore Sichuan's prestige as an agricultural province; to participate in the development of Sichuan's cultural tourism, so as to build Sichuan into a province boasting strong tourism and important tourist destinations in the world; to participate in the construction of the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone, so as to gradually improve the open economy of our province.
Mr. Di Maio said that Italy is proud to be the host country of this year's Western Fair. We are to hold high-profile events during the Fair to showcase the advanced knowledge and technology of Italy in the fields of environmental protection, technology, cultural heritage protection, health, music, and food safety. It is believed that this year's Western Fair will promote the mutually beneficial cooperation among the regions and enterprises of Italy and China. Italy and China, dating back to the same historical period and endowed with profound cultures, share strong complementarities in economic and trade exchanges. We will develop our bilateral relations in an all-round way and further promote the business cooperation and mutual investments by means of this year's Western Fair, in an effort to create more welfare for the peoples of the two countries.
Mr. Pun said that the Western Fair has provided traders, entrepreneurs and investors with opportunities to share ideas, establish contacts and negotiate projects, and effectively promoted practical cooperation in trade, investment and tourism. Nepal and China share a close and profound relationship with a long history of friendly exchanges. Nepal highly appreciates the “Belt and Road Initiative” which has brought along peace, cooperation, tolerance and mutual benefits. We warmly welcome exhibitors from all over the world, including enterprises of Sichuan, to expand businesses in Nepal and participate in our industrial development and infrastructure construction such as agriculture and tourism.
Mr. Wang Bingnan said that this year marks the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up. China's greatest potential for opening up to the outside world lies in the west which also serves as the main direction. Promoting development through opening-up is the experience accumulated in implementing the development strategy of the western regions. The Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China will continue to support the western regions to expand foreign cooperation, encourage Sichuan to open up to the outside world, tap new growth potentials of foreign trade, give play to the demonstration role of the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and strive to shape the western regions from a "follower" to a leading frontier in terms of opening-up.
Before the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Hu Chunhua, Mr. Di Maio, Mr. Peng Qinghua, Mr. Yin Li and others attended the opening ceremony of the Italian Pavilion and visited some exhibition areas. After the Opening Ceremony, Mr. Hu Chunhua conducted field researches in the China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone and some foreign trade enterprises. On the evening of the 19th, Mr. Hu Chunhua met with Mr. Di Maio and Mr. Pun on separate occasions, the latter two had come to Sichuan to attend the Western Fair. They exchanged views on implementing the consensus reached by the leaders of the two sides and on strengthening cooperation in the “Belt and Road” construction.
Present at the Opening Ceremony and the Forum also included ministerial officials from 12 countries (regions), local leaders from 6 countries (regions), foreign diplomatic envoys to China and representatives of consular agencies in Chengdu and Chongqing, and heads of foreign government delegations; important international organizations and business associations, heads of the world top 500 enterprises and well-known multinational corporations; representatives of relevant national ministries and commissions, representatives from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions, relevant leaders of Sichuan Province, people's governments of various provinces (prefectures and municipalities) and delegations of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps; representatives of domestic business associations, central enterprises, and well-known private enterprises.
