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Monday, April 23, 2018, 14:53
Sichuan looks beyond borders
By Li Yinze in Hong Kong
Monday, April 23, 2018, 14:53 By Li Yinze in Hong Kong

Southwestern province ready to take full advantage of growing international links via Belt and Road and e-commerce platforms

Xie Feng (fourth right), commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR, joins delegation members in front of the Leshan Giant Buddha in Leshan, Southwest China’s Sichuan province, on April 11. The 71-meter-high Buddha statue, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is carved into a cliff and overlooks three converging rivers. It was built over a 90-year period starting in the year 713 during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). (PHOTO BY LI YINZE / CHINA DAILY)

Sichuan province and foreign countries should join hands within the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative for win-win outcomes, according to the provincial government’s top official.

“We are ready to deepen exchanges and expand cooperation in trade, technology, education, culture, art, tourism, finance and other areas with relevant parties,” Peng Qinghua, secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, said on April 8.

A 33-strong delegation from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, led by Xie Feng, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR, ended a five-day visit to Sichuan on April 12. 

The trip was aimed at boosting economic ties and exploring the investment climate in the province. The team included representatives of foreign consular missions and business chambers, as well as media professionals from the SAR.

Xie stressed that opening-up brings progress, and China in the new era seeks more mutual benefits and shared opportunities for the rest of the world.

Sichuan, an emerging hub of transportation in southwestern China, has witnessed dramatic development thanks to the country’s 40 successful years of reform and opening-up, which has accelerated its connectivity expansion to the rest of the world.

“People-to-people links always help, you can see many Union Jacks on the shelves here,” Andrew Heyn, British consul-general in Hong Kong, said on April 10 at the Chengdu International Railway Port. The port links Sichuan to international terminals at 15 stations including Lodz and Malaszewicze in Poland, Tilburg in the Netherlands and Nuremberg in Germany. By the end of March, the port had cumulatively handled 2.22 million tons of cargo, comprising 170,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit containers with a value of US$10.1 billion.

China’s door of opening-up will not be closed and will only open wider, President Xi Jinping said earlier that same day, April 10, in his opening speech at the Boao Forum for Asia, in South China’s Hainan province. In support of Xi’s remarks, Heyn said it is important for the relevant parties to keep the trading relationship open and fair, which is good for everybody.

Peng Qinghua (right), secretary of the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China, meets with the delegation on April 8. Peng described the visit as a good opportunity for deepening exchanges and expanding cooperation in areas including trade, technology, education and tourism. (PHOTO BY LI YINZE / CHINA DAILY)

Aside from transportation, Si-chuan’s exceptional tourism resources have also won a reputation both in China and abroad.

“Impressive,” Asi Mamanee, Thailand’s consul-general in Hong Kong, said after touring the 71-meter-high Leshan Giant Buddha, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996.

The Maitreya Buddha statue is carved into a cliff and overlooks three converging rivers. It was built over a 90-year period starting in the year 713 during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907).

“Thailand is a Buddhist-majority country, and my fellow citizens would absolutely like to come and see the Buddhist sites in Sichuan if they get to know it,” Mamanee said.

Sichuan, with a history of thousands of years, rich culture, and breathtaking natural scenery, ranks among the best Chinese tourism attractions.

Last year, Sichuan hosted nearly 700 million domestic tourist arrivals and more than 3 million overseas visitors. Its tourism revenue grew 16.1 percent year-on-year to reach over 892.3 billion yuan (US$142.1 billion). Giant pandas, sacred Mount Emei, and the well-known local spicy hotpot are all favorites.

By the end of December 2017, Sichuan had extended its international flight network to more than 100 destinations on five different continents, according to the provincial authorities. The Silk Road in the air, linking countries along the Belt and Road, is bringing the world to Sichuan.

“Thai Airways at the moment flies between Bangkok to Chengdu (and) hopefully more flights could be scheduled after Chengdu has its second international airport in operation,” Mamanee said. “Thai tourists would come a lot more.”

Uncle Liu, 68, a resident of Meiwan village in Sichuan’s Danling county, Meishan, showed off the homegrown oranges in his hands. He said his five-member family is reaping abundant supply and enjoying a moderately prosperous life.

According to local authorities, farmers in Meiwan village sold one-third of their oranges via online platforms in 2017. This proportion continues to rise.

Online business does not only increase their sales volume, it also helps the local agricultural products to go global. With their e-commerce platform, Meiwan villagers have already broadened their sales prospects to markets in Canada and Singapore.

Uncle Liu, along with many other farmers all over the province, has tasted the sweetness of the Internet Plus agriculture model. People’s lives in Sichuan’s rural areas have been rapidly improved by applying e-commerce platforms to the sales of agricultural products. The Chinese government wants more to follow.

Jacinta Reddan, CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong, attaches high importance to online business, to explore the tremendous Chinese market.

Reddan told China Daily that she noticed JD.com, Taobao and many other Chinese online business platforms all have Australian products available now, and more Australian companies are exporting their products to China through these platforms.

“We need to move to China time (and) make sure the best products in the world produced in Australia are being brought to Chinese consumers,” said Reddan.

yinzeli@chinadailyhk.com


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