Belt and Road summit on international trade opens in Manzhouli

The China International Trade and Investment Exposition Manzhouli 2017 and the Belt and Road Summit for International Trade Facilitation were held in Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Aug.18.

Themed "Connectivity, Cooperation and Win-win," the expo provided a platform to continue building the economic corridor and driving the cooperation between governments and enterprises along the Silk Road.

Participants from more than 20 countries and regions attended the summit.

Lu Pengqi, vice president of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, said international trade facilitation was the key to the Belt and Road Initiative. Countries along the Belt and Road should aim at stepping up their connectivity in an effort to achieve interconnected development and win-win outcomes.

Serdiukov Viacheslav, the visiting director in charge of the Russian Trade Organization in China, said China was the biggest trade partner for Russia. In the process of jointly building the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Land Bridge, China and Russia have a better relationship in terms of coordination. The two countries have had remarkable cooperation in various fields such as trade, energy, infrastructure, finance, aerospace and humanities.

Xu Ailian, vice secretary of the Manzhouli Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China and mayor of Manzhouli, noted that Manzhouli, which borders Russia and Mongolia. accounts for 65 percent of trade transport between China and Russia. She added that Manzhouli was the first city to implement the "single-window system," making customs clearance more convenient.