China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum held in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province

Source: <https://js.cri.cn/2023-09-17/f2f3aafa-20bd-fe5a-69c7-42cbd83396ef.html>

On September 15, 2023, the China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum (hereinafter referred to as the "Forum") was successfully held in Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province, the eastern starting point of the new Asia-Europe Land Bridge.

The China-Europe Railway Express is a symbol of the Belt and Road Initiative. This Forum is one of a series of important events marking the 10^th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, which will help further consolidate and steadily improve the sound development momentum of China-Europe Railway Express, strengthen the connectivity of industrial and supply chains, build consensus on cooperation and development, deepen all-round practical cooperation, and promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative. With the theme of "Deepening Interconnectivity and Promoting Win-Win Cooperation", the forum aims to comprehensively deepen friendly exchanges and practical cooperation with relevant countries, which has received positive response from the international community.

The Forum includes the opening ceremony, main forum and sub-forum and lasts for one day. At the opening ceremony, Mr. Xin Changxing, Secretary of the Party Committee of Jiangsu Province, Mr. Cong Liang, Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, Mr. Li Yang, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Sun Yuning, Deputy Director of the General Administration of Customs, Mr. Liu Zhenfang, Chairman of China Railway Group, Mr. Khaltar, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Transport and Development of Mongolia, and Mr. Farhod Arziev, Ambassador of Uzbekistan to China, delivered speeches successively. At the main forum, guests from home and abroad had in-depth exchanges on promoting the high-quality development of China-Europe Railway Express and promoting the development of an open economy in the region. On the afternoon of September 15, the two sub-forums "Railway + Shipping" and "Railway + Economy and trade" were held, focusing on expanding practical cooperation in trade and investment, people-to-people exchanges, digital economy, land and sea connectivity and other fields.

The Forum produced 48 cooperation outcomes, six of which were at the national level, including the launch of the China-Europe Railway Express portal, the release of the China-Europe Railway Express timetable, the implementation of the China-Europe Railway Express multimodal electronic bill of lading, the implementation of the project of expanding the capacity of key railway ports and rear channels, the expansion of traction and tonnage, and the deepening of the mechanism building of international railway cooperation, etc. 42 items at the local and enterprise levels. During the Forum, the China-Europe Railway Express portal was officially launched.

The Forum was co-hosted by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Transport, the General Administration of Customs, China Railway Group, the People's governments of Jiangsu Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Heilongjiang Province, Henan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, Shaanxi Province and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and hosted by the People's Government of Jiangsu Province with the support of the Ministry of Commerce and the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. More than 500 delegates from 29 countries and regions attended the Forum, including more than 150 foreign guests and 350 Chinese guests.

Source: <https://js.cri.cn/2023-09-17/f2f3aafa-20bd-fe5a-69c7-42cbd83396ef.html>

Translated by Zhao Shengbo