In July 2013, when President Xi Jinping met with his then Swiss counterpart, Ueli Maurer, in Beijing, Xi said that the natural conditions of China's Guizhou province were similar to those of Switzerland and that he hoped the two could cooperate on ecological and economic development. Today, Switzerland and Guizhou are well on their way to a cooperative partnership.
Maurer took part in the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference in Guiyang, the capital of the southwestern province, in 2013, and the following year Hannes German, president of the Council of States of Switzerland's Federal Assembly, joined the conference.
Switzerland has a reputation as one of the greenest countries in the world, with a circular, low-carbon economy. Although it is far from Guizhou, it has a connection with the mountainous province, with similarities in geology, nature and environment.
The Eco Forum and Sino-Swiss dialogues have become a means of communication, not just between Guizhou and the Swiss, but between China's interior and developed countries in Europe.
When a Sino-Swiss free trade agreement took effect on July 1, 2014, it brought cooperation opportunities for Switzerland and Guizhou, which has its sights set on becoming a "Switzerland of the East", using Swiss experience and expertise in the green industry and urban construction in mountainous areas.
As an economic and tourism powerhouse Switzerland is an excellent example for Guizhou province, a landlocked but beautiful place, to emulate.
Guizhou has plans of following in the footsteps of Switzerland. In terms of tourism, environmental protection and agriculture the province has potential to be paired with Switzerland.
Guizhou has sent a large number of delegates to Switzerland and has held business and tourism promotions and conferences there. The two parties have signed strategic agreements on trade and economic cooperation.
Guiyang's free trade zone and Gui'an Sino-Swiss industrial zone are expected to be the best prospects for cooperation with Switzerland.
More Swiss companies are expected to invest in Guizhou and at the same time, the province will use its Sino-Swiss dialogues to develop a Chinese and Swiss clean energy technology center and an environmental protection industrial base, local officials said.
In addition to Switzerland, the province is conducting environmental collaboration projects with Norway and Australia in capacity building until 2016.
Guizhou has been working to attract international cooperative environment projects, said Zheng Mingjie, director of an international cooperation center at the provincial government's department of environmental protection.
"While before, we valued the capital inflows, now our focus has shifted to importing advanced ideas, technology and experience," Zheng said. "Such bilateral cooperation facilitates exchanges in technologies, equipment and human resources and helps foster high-quality management and technical staff."
Chen Jiling, minister of Environmental Protection, told media during the National People's Congress in March, "The environmental issue is of high concern for the international community, which requires increased joint efforts to deal with common global and regional environmental challenges that we face."
As a responsible member of the community, China has long taken an active part in various accords and action plans for environmental protection, Chen said.
"We will continue to expand environmental cooperation with various countries and international and regional organizations, serving the Belt and Road Initiative, building a green 'Silk Road' and realizing mutually beneficial results," he said.
Guiyang was once again put into the limelight when it hosted a forum to promote cooperation between the United States and China in building a smart and green city in May.
A smart city refers to one that uses digital technology to promote public well-being while reducing costs and resource consumption.
China has drafted national plans to promote the idea as it pushes urbanization forward.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Rural Development selected Guiyang as a pilot smart city in 2013, making it attractive to US IT companies.
Some leading US companies, including Dell, Honeywell, 3M, Nucloud Global, Autodesk Software and McWong Environmental Technology, shared their technology and experience in big data, cloud computing, smart traffic, green architecture, green database and clean energy during the forum.
zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn
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Terraced fields in Miao people's Jiabang village in Congjiang county, Guizhou. Zhang Chengwen / for China Daily |
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A bridge with seven arches at a scenic area listed as a World Natural Heritage Site in Libo county. Provided to China Daily |
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With sound ecosystems, Guizhou is drawing a lot of attention from international environmental programs. He Guangqian / for China Daily |
