In the morning of September 16th, with the theme of “China’s new era·western’s new opportunity”, the opening ceremony of the 18th Western China International Fair and the 10th Western China International Cooperation Forum were held in Chengdu. The opening of the forum was announced by Hu Chunhua, the vice premier of the State Council and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, and a speech was delivered through video by Piñera, Chile’s president. Those spoke at the forum were Peng Qinghua, secretary of Sichuan provincial party committee, Yu Jianhua, vice minister and deputy secretary of leading party group of the Ministry of Commerce and negotiation delegate of international trade, Qi Yu, secretary of the party committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Losang Jamcan, deputy secretary of the party committee of Tibet Autonomous Region which was the rotating chairman institute of the Western China International Fair and director of a standing committee of a district people’s congress, and Tang Liangzhi, mayor and vice secretary of Chongqing municipality. Video speeches were given by Tan See Leng, Singapore minister of man power and secondary minister of trade and industry, Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan, minister of marine and investment coordination, Greece vice minister of foreign affairs, Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor, chief executive of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and He Yicheng, chief executive of Macao Special Administrative Region. Huang Qiang, governor and deputy secretary of Sichuan provincial party committee, hosted the forum and the opening ceremony. Ke Zunping, chairman of Sichuan Provincial CPPCC, and Deng Xiaogang deputy secretary of Sichuan provincial party committee, attended.
Hu Chunhua said that president Xi Jinping attached great importance to the opening and development of the western region of China. He stressed that the government needed to explore new ways for the China western development in a new era; push the China western development to form a new structure and give important instructions to hold the Western China International Fair. Since the implementation of the China western development strategy, especially since the 18th CPC National Congress, the opening-up and the economic development of the western region had achieved a lot and it’s internal driving force had been enhanced, presenting a brighter prospect for development.
Hu Chunhua stressed that currently, China had entered a new development stage of the building of a socialist modern country in all aspects. The government would speed up the construction of a pattern of dual circulation in which domestic economic cycle played a leading role while international economic cycle remained its extension and supplement. The western region would embrace new development opportunities. On a new starting point, we supported the western region to realize high-quality development with high-standard; push the western region to take new steps in opening-up; make full-use of western region’s advantage in the construction of the “belt and road” initiative; create a new international land passage for trade on land and on the sea; improve the inter-connectivity level between western regions and opening coastal areas in China; improve the capacity of western regions to accept transferred industries; create smooth passages for opening-up in all directions; create a high level opening-up platform in the interior land of China; form an new opening-up highland of higher opening level and stronger radiation effect; build a business environment conducive to opening-up and enable foreign-owned enterprises to invest and develop without worry.
Piñera sent his congratulation to the opening of the 18th Western China International Fair. He said that Chile was the first South American country to establish diplomatic relationship with the People’s Republic of China. China had been Chile’s largest trade partner for many years consecutively and Chile had been China’s second largest trade partner in South America. The good partnership was not only presented at national level, but also the communication between Chile and provinces (districts and cities) in China. It’s an honor that Consulate General of Chile in Chengdu was opened officially just before the Western China International Fair. The fair was also a chance to bring Chile’s people, culture, entrepreneurs and products chose to those of western provinces in China. Chile produced best cherries in the world and was a land of opportunities. He hoped that chances would be seized by attending enterprises which would carry out win-win cooperation with Chile in fields including the development and exploitation of clear energy. He wished the fair would be a huge success.
Peng Qinghua extended his warm welcome to guests on behalf of provincial party committee and provincial government. He said that Western China International Fair was an important platform to promote investment, diplomatic service and trade and economic cooperation, and thusly general secretary Xi Jinping payed great attention to it. He and his colleges would remember Xi Jinping’s guidance to see the fair as the starting point of being a part of the “belt and road” initiative and the improvement of constructing an open economy. Sichuan province aimed to contribute more to construct a dual circulation with the main part being domestic circulation which would support international circulation and verse visa. Sichuan was at a new starting point as it carried out the 14th five year plan. National strategies like Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle gave driving force to Sichuan which was a place of time-honored development and offered new space for businessman from home and abroad to invest and show their talent. The government would continue to provide international, law-based and market-based business environment and convenient living condition and would spend effort to make Sichuan a place suitable for living, tourism and business, so guests from home and abroad arriving there would like to stay rather than leave and to visit again once they left.
Yu Jianhua said that the State Council and CPC Central Committee make a strategic deployment for the new structure of Large-scale Development of the Western Region. New historical opportunities were greeted by China’s western region. The Ministry of Commerce would support the western region to be better included into the new development structure by encouraging high-quality commercial development of western region; developing urban and rural consumption; promoting the innovation and development of foreign trade, rising the level of using foreign capital and constructing high-level platform. I hoped that guests would share new developing opportunities of the west part of China and would start a new chapter of mutually benefiting chapter.
Qi Yu said that an important responsibility of diplomacy was to serve the opening-up of China’s western region and to support western development. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would do the following. First, it would had a clear understanding of the new development stage, carried out new development ideas and enhanced the guidance and service of work relating to foreign affairs in China’s western region, so as to offer higher-quality policy support for the opening-up. Second, it would make full use of the advantage of connecting itself and the outside world to construct a solid bridge of western land’s international cooperation. Third, it would carry out the principle of “diplomacy for people” which would be a guarantee of the opening-up of the western world. Losang Jamcan said that since the start of the Western China International Fair, we witnessed the glorious journey of the expo to promote cooperation, friendship and prosperity and the achievement of the prosperous development, win-win cooperation and opening cooperation. Tibet would participate in the fair in all aspects, with multi-level and wide field to show the economic and social achievement of the past 70 years since the peaceful liberation of the Tibet. He earnestly invited guests to invest and do business in Tibet to create a future. Tang Liangzhi said that in the past year and more, Sichuan and Chongqing had been sticking to the spirit of important speeches delivered by the general secretary Xi Jinping and decision of the CPC party committee, so local governments had been sticking to the idea of integrated development; promoting the interconnectivity of infrastructure, coordination of industrial development, mutual construction and governance of ecological and environmental protection; developing two cities and constructing the economic circle. The fair was an opportunity for Chongqing to enhance the cooperation with brother provinces (districts and cities) including Sichuan province as well as with countries along the "belt and road", so as to promote the construction of Sichuan-Chongqing economic circle and the new structure of the large-scale western development in a new era.
Tan See Leng said that it’s an honor for the Singapore to be the host country of the Western China International Fair. In recent years, the western region of China had became an important support of China’s economy with great potential thanks to it’s abundant resource, large population and rapidly improving infrastructure, so more and more Singapore enterprises went to Sichuan for business opportunities. Singapore would work with China to build a new passage for international trade on the sea and land, so enterprises from the two countries could gain more benefit in the enhanced cooperation.
Luhut Binsar Pandjaitan said that in the past 70 years since the establishment of the diplomatic relationship between China and Singapore, the bilateral relationship had reached long-term development, especially abundant achievement was made within the structure of the “belt and road” initiative. Sichuan was a leading province in China’s economy with promising potential in recent years. The province had been having smooth communication with Indonesia in all fields and playing an important role in the trade and economic exchanges. He was willing to expand bilateral trade and investment between China and different places to cope with future challenges and to contribute more to the world.
Greece vice minister of foreign affairs said that the Western China International Fair was an important platform to promote the progress of the western region in China and to push forward trade and investment. Greece attached great importance to the trade and economic relations with the western region of China and would set up a consulate-general in Chengdu. Even though there were unprecedented challenges due to the Covid-19, the two countries could spend the largest effort possible to decrease the influence of the pandemic to trade circulation to the lowest. He believed the fair could help more enterprises from Greece to find opportunities in the western region of China and wished all attending guests could have fruitful result when left.
Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said that the Large-scale Development of the Western China was an important national strategy. After concerted effort, the western region had achieved significant historical result. Currently, China had been accelerating a new development structure of a "dual circulation" development pattern in which domestic economic circle plays a leading role while international economic cycle remains its extension and supplement. The western region would play a vital role. The Western China International Fair was a valuable opportunity for Hong Kong businessmen to communicate with enterprises in the interior land of China and to expand business. The SAR government would assist Hong Kong businessmen to expand western market and find business opportunities in the integration of the dual circulation.
He Yicheng said that the Western China International Fair represented the huge opportunity of the western region in the national new development structure, chance to enhance communication and cooperation with all sides and new wish to realize win-win cooperation. We would follow the national strategic development plan and constructed a good platform by making full use of the special status and distinctive advantages to serve national “dual circulation”, so as to improve the cooperation with Sichuan and other provinces (districts and cities) in the interior land of China and thusly supported a new round of national high-level opening-up and development.
Before the opening ceremony, Hu Chunhua, Peng Qinghua and Huang Qiang visited the exhibition hall of the Western China International Fair and inspected exhibition areas including the hall of new energy for western industries, hall for development of the state-owned enterprises and hall for international cooperation of the “belt and road”.
Attendees of the forum and the opening ceremony also included: foreign ambassadors in China, relating heads of national ministries and commissions, heads of provinces (districts and cities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, heads of Sichuan province, representatives of Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, representatives of important international organizations and international chamber of commerce in China, heads of world top 500 enterprises and well-known cross-border companies, some central enterprises, important domestic chambers of commerce (associations) and heads of private enterprises.