Shaanxi role in B&R shows benefits galore for province

At the closing ceremony of the 2017 Silk Road International Expo in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, Samba dancers from Brazil interact with their audience. [Photo/Xinhua]

BEIJING - The Belt and Road Initiative is spurring myriad business activities and trade in Northwest China's Shaanxi province. The province's role in the Initiative is also growing.

For instance, early this month, Serbian businessman Alexander Stankovic, general manager of a winery, spent over 25 hours traveling from his Belgrade home to Xi'an in the province to attend an expo on the Belt and Road Initiative.

Stankovic had to transfer flights in Moscow and Beijing before reaching Xi'an, the easternmost point of the ancient Silk Road.

At the 2017 Silk Road International Expo from June 3 to 7, Alexander's display area attracted plenty of visitors and many Chinese clients are considering cooperation with the winery.

The expo was a chance for Serbia to introduce Chinese people to its traditional culture, tourism resources and products, according to Rasim Ljajic, deputy prime minister of Serbia.

In Almaty, Kazakhstan, a China-Kazakhstan Agricultural Demonstration Park, put together by an agency of Shaanxi province, is catching the attention of local people. Kazakhstan is one of the countries and regions participating in the Initiative.

"We planted 24 kinds of agricultural products here, including wheat, corn and beans, in 2016. Our new wheat is over 82 percent higher in yield than the local ones," said Ma Jing, an official with Shaanxi Yangling Agricultural Demonstration Zone, the cradle of Chinese agriculture.

Since 1997, Yangling has also been home to the High-tech Agricultural Industrial Demonstration Zone. It operates eight agricultural cooperation zones worldwide.

Shaanxi's contributions to the Initiative come in many forms.

For instance, it had a role in the new Mombasa-Nairobi railway line in Kenya built by China. On May 31, the 480-kilometer railway opened. Local train driver Alice Mugure Gitau was among the seven female drivers who received training at Baoji in Shaanxi.

Gitau was the driver of the first passenger train on the railway, which created 46,000 jobs for local people.

In China, a 2,300-km high-speed railway line linking Baoji to Lanzhou city in Gansu province is about to open. It connects some important cities along the ancient Silk Road, and is ready to connect to railways in central and western Asia and Europe, said Guo Junqi, an engineer with China Railway Group.

On May 31, the World Apple Industry Center was launched in Shaanxi, a famous production base of the fruit in China.

New opportunities are arising for the young in Shaanxi. A Russian student plans to set up a trading firm and import Russian products for sale in the province.

Similarly, a student from Thailand hopes to open a Thai restaurant in Yangling after graduation.