Shou Xiaoli:

We'll have one last question, please.

China Daily:

Shaanxi is the starting point of the ancient Silk Road and an important node city of the BRI. What initiatives will be taken by Shaanxi to expand its opening-up? Thank you.

Zhao Gang:

Thank you for your question. I'll address it now. As the reporter mentioned, Shaanxi is an inland province. The BRI has brought historic opportunities to Shaanxi, positioning it at the forefront of China's opening up to the West. Currently, we are focusing on leveraging strengths in three aspects to transform the inland province into a pacesetter of reform and opening-up.

First, we are capitalizing on our industrial strengths to promote the development of an open economy. At present, Shaanxi has established economic and trade ties with nearly 200 countries and regions. Over the past decade, total imports and exports with Belt and Road countries have achieved an average annual growth of 17.5%, which is 5.9 percentage points higher than the national level. Last year, 513 new foreign trade entities were established in Shaanxi, and significant efforts were made to foster export-oriented enterprises. The export of heavy-duty trucks grew by 100%, and the export of new energy vehicles increased 11.5 times. Additionally, the export of integrated circuits accounted for nearly 10% of the national total.

In recent years, Shaanxi has made significant strides in attracting foreign investment. A number of world-renowned enterprises, including Samsung Electronics, Coca-Cola, and Yihai Kerry, have established operations in Shaanxi to expand their investments.

Next, we will work to foster more export-oriented business entities, support enterprises in developing cross-border businesses, continue to promote the export of competitive products, and optimize the environment for foreign investment to maintain the growth momentum for foreign trade and investment.

Second, we are leveraging our geographical advantages to enhance channels for opening-up. China-Europe freight trains from Shaanxi to Central Asia, West Asia, and Europe have been put into regular operation, with a total of 18 routes covering the entire Eurasian continent. China-Europe freight trains offer significant advantages in comprehensive logistics costs. The transport time is one-third that of maritime transport, and the average cost is one-ninth that of air transport.

We have launched the pilot land port for departure tax rebates, reducing the time for tax rebates to three days. At the same time, we have sped up the construction of the China-Europe Railway Express assembly center, put the Kazakhstan Xi'an Terminal into operation, and established a total of 53 overseas warehouses in 23 countries and regions. The China-Europe Railway Express has become a "steel camel fleet" connecting Asia and Europe. We will also make every effort to amplify the radiation effect of the China-Europe Railway Express assembly center in Xi'an and strive to build an international trade channel with higher efficiency, lower costs, and better services.

Third, we are leveraging our cultural strengths to enhance close exchanges and cooperation. We have fully activated historical and cultural resources and actively served overall national diplomacy. Shaanxi has established friendship relations with 113 provinces, states, and cities in 41 countries, including Russia and Kazakhstan. In terms of culture, Shaanxi has successfully hosted the General Assembly of the Alliance for Culture Heritage in Asia and the Silk Road International Film Festival. In terms of education, Xi'an Jiaotong University has launched the University Alliance of the Silk Road, and the Kazakhstan branch campus of Northwestern Polytechnical University has begun enrolling students. In terms of archaeological excavation, Shaanxi has conducted several joint archaeological explorations with Central Asian countries, signed cooperation agreements with eight countries and 14 research institutions under the BRI, and achieved fruitful results in a series of archaeological excavations of ancient city ruins in Central Asia.

We will focus on key areas such as culture, education, and tourism, and continue to enhance international cultural and people-to-people exchanges, contributing Shaanxi's strength in promoting global connectivity.

In the second half of the year, we will host major events in Shaanxi, such as the Silk Road International Exposition in Xi'an and the China Yangling Agricultural Hi-tech Fair in Yangling. Friends from home and abroad are welcome to attend these events, seek business opportunities, and achieve win-win outcomes. Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you to Mr. Zhao Gang and all the speakers. Thank you to all the media representatives for your participation. This concludes today's press conference. See you next time.

Translated and edited by Xu Xiaoxuan, Yuan Fang, Gong Yingchun, Zhu Bochen, Wang Qian, Zhang Junmian, Liu Sitong, Wang Yanfang, Liu Caiyi, Yan Bin, Wang Ziteng, Li Xiao, Zhou Jing, Xu Kailin, Li Huiru, David Ball, Jay Birbeck and Rochelle Beiersdorfer. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.