China News Service:

TWG has attracted competitors from numerous countries and regions. How will Sichuan province use this opportunity to further advance opening up and cooperation? Thank you.

Yang Xingping:

Thank you for your question. Further expanding opening up is a necessary step for Sichuan to broaden its development opportunities and enhance its economic quality. Therefore, we'll seize the opportunity presented by TWG to further deepen opening up and cooperation, while striving to better serve and integrate into the new development framework.

First, we will continue to expand channels for opening up. We are leveraging TWG as an opportunity to expand our international gateways. In the past few days, we've launched direct flights from Chengdu to Dubai, as well as to Madrid in Spain and Paris. Tomorrow, we'll launch direct flights to Penang, Malaysia. The launch of these flight routes has greatly enhanced the movement of people and trade between these countries and Sichuan. Moving forward, we will further leverage the advantage of Chengdu's two international airports to establish additional international air routes. During the Games, dedicated channels and windows will be established at official entry and exit ports to facilitate the movement of personnel and materials. On the other hand, Chengdu is also an important node city of the Belt and Road Initiative. The China-Europe Railway Express, which departs from Chengdu and Chongqing, connects more than 120 cities in Eurasia. With 36,000 completed train trips, it has become China's most stable China-Europe freight train service with the highest volume and widest regional cooperation network. Looking ahead, we will continue to open land-based transit corridors, promote air-rail-sea multimodal transportation, and focus on building integrated multidimensional transportation corridors to continuously expand channels for opening up.

Second, we will seize the opportunity to expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges. As a major province in western China, Sichuan has established 516 international sister city and friendly cooperation relationships with partners in 90 countries. These networks of friendship have been built and accumulated over years of international exchanges. Among these, major international events such as the Chengdu Universiade, the International Horticultural Exhibition and the Western China International Fair have played crucial roles in helping Sichuan connect with the world and expand its global presence. Therefore, we must further seize the opportunity presented by TWG to carefully plan and continuously conduct international exchange programs such as the "Sichuan Tour for Diplomatic Envoys to China" and the "Sichuan Tour for Foreign Media." We'll also continuously deepen talent exchanges in culture, art, education and sports, allowing more international friends to visit and understand Sichuan.

Furthermore, we will deepen comprehensive cooperation across multiple fields. Sichuan has established strong economic and trade relations with more than 200 countries and regions. Currently, there are over 5,600 foreign-funded enterprises in Sichuan, including 385 Fortune Global 500 companies. Chengdu has been approved to host 23 foreign consular missions, making it China's third-largest consular hub after Shanghai and Guangzhou. These developments have established a solid foundation for cooperation in various fields such as commerce, investment, science, technology, health, energy and minerals. We'll leverage our advantages and seize opportunities to promote global exchanges and cooperation. We'll invite domestic and international guests to visit various places in Sichuan and participate in events such as the Belt and Road Conference on Science and Technology and the Western China International Fair. This will connect global resources on a larger scale, in a wider range of fields, and at a deeper level to enhance opening-up and cooperation. Thank you.