Belt and Road countries eye Shaanxi FTZ

The Xi'an International Trade and Logistics (ITL) Park section of the Shaanxi (China) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) has attracted international attention after a global promotion conference was held in Xi'an, capital city of Shaanxi province, on Oct. 28.

A joint effort of the Xi'an ITL Park, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and its Xi'an branch, the conference brought together 135 business representatives from 35 countries and regions involved in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Huang Yuhui, deputy director of the ITL administrative committee, briefed the participants on the latest developments.

A booming e-commerce industry cluster has seen the park accommodate over 600 enterprises led by such brands as Alibaba's OneTouch, Jingdong and Suning. Online sales make up nearly 80 percent of Xi'an's total revenue.

The new finance industry booming inside the park has become a notable new engine of further growth, owning 60 percent of the financial leasing companies in the province.

Xi'an Deputy Mayor Dong Jinwei extended a warm welcome to attendees on behalf of the municipal government and the province's citizens.

The establishment of the Shaanxi FTZ has strengthened Xi'an's role as an essential part of the Silk Road economic belt, while the recent 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) announced promising prospects to Xi'an's development. The northwestern Chinese city is willing to embrace other cities, cooperating to deepen the Euro-Asia connection.

After the conference, representatives were also shown around Xi'an Port, the Imported Wine Trading Base and the Xi'an Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Participants showed a keen interest in the ITL's inland port model, and were impressed that the international logistics system combining land, sea and air transport has dramatically reduced both time and cost.

"I will share my experience of Xi'an Port with the minister back in Ghana and hope that further exchange can be enjoyed by both sides," noted a business official from the Republic of Ghana's Ministry of Trade and Industry.

From its inauguration on April 1 to Oct. 13, the Shaanxi FTZ had registered capital of 185.66 billion yuan (US$27.94 billion) from 6,114 new enterprises.