Trade hub aims to reclaim ancient glory

BRI brings new hope

Shaanxi, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road which connected East and West thousands of years ago, is well placed to play a crucial role in the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, thanks to its superior location and a complete and efficient logistics system that covers air, rail and road transportation.

As Hu Heping, Party secretary of Shaanxi, noted at a high-level meeting last year: "With the advance of the construction of the Belt and Road, Shaanxi once again stands at the forefront of China's opening-up to the world, which has created favorable conditions for making full use of Shaanxi's advantage of being a hub and gateway in West China, improving the weak points of its insufficient opening-up, and thus promoting the province's high-quality development."

In the first quarter of this year, 284 China-Europe freight trains set out from Xi'an, Shaanxi's capital, signaling year-on-year growth of nearly 60 percent, according to the Xi'an Customs. Trade with countries participating in the BRI accounted for about 60 percent of commerce during the first three months.

"The China-Europe freight train is much more than a road for opening up... more important, it has brought about the rapid development of trade and accelerated industry agglomeration," Sun Yimin, director of the administrative committee of the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park, told Shaanxi Daily late last year.

In addition to the China-Europe cargo trains, an aviation logistics network has been constructed, and Xi'an Xianyang International Airport is one of its essential links.

Hua Maobin, a coordinator with Xi'an Huahan Aviation Passenger-Cargo Service Co, told Shaanxi Daily: "Shaanxi's aviation cargo industry has welcomed its golden era, with more routes opened in recent years. As the leading enterprise in the industry, Huahan has been able to record a growth rate of 20 percent per year."

At the same time, Shaanxi is working to build a high-speed rail network that extends in eight directions, allowing passengers to arrive in major cities, such as Kunming in Yunnan province and Fuzhou in Fujian province, in just 10 hours.

Six years ago, President Xi Jinping proposed the concept of the Silk Road Economic Belt during a speech at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan. He noted that the old Silk Road started near his hometown in Shaanxi. He added that looking back into history, he could almost hear the camel bells echoing in the mountains and see the wisps of smoke rising from the desert.

Now the BRI promises to help Shaanxi revive its ancient glory, when it was the world's economic center for dynasty after dynasty and witnessed the best the times could offer.