GUANGZHOU, June 23 (Xinhua) — Belgian candies, Japanese sake, Iranian carpets, Peruvian alpaca toys, and Pakistani jade ornaments had been amongst a variety of commodities from nations and areas alongside the Belt and Road showcased at this yr’s Guangdong twenty first Century Maritime Silk Road International Expo.
The expo, held within the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou early this month, attracted over 1,000 taking part firms and generated offers value almost 2 billion yuan (round 279 million U.S. {dollars}).
As a famend business metropolis with a historical past of over 2,200 years, Guangzhou witnessed thriving international commerce and cultural change as soon as once more, telling the lasting story of China’s high-level opening up.
During the occasion, Abdullah Zafer H. Bin Abiyah, Consul General of Saudi Arabia in Guangzhou, expressed his enjoyment of showcasing Saudi Arabia’s historical past and cultural heritage. He additionally highlighted the chance to ascertain deeper connections in power cooperation, analysis and innovation, industrial initiatives, and monetary collaboration with worldwide buddies he made in the course of the occasion.
Situated on the banks of the Pearl River, Guangzhou is likely one of the beginning factors of the Maritime Silk Road and a flourishing metropolis, which has constructed itself into a sturdy world commerce hub by way of the ages.
Since the Qin (221-207 BC) and Han (202 BC-220 AD) dynasties, Guangzhou has been a significant port and transportation hub on the Pacific coast. Archaeological findings from the tomb of the Nanyue King within the Western Han Dynasty (202 BC-25 AD) bear witness to the town’s international commerce historical past relationship again to over two thousand years in the past, with the presence of artifacts together with silver packing containers from Persia, ivory from Africa, and incense and glassware from Southeast Asia and West Asia.
During the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, the institution of bureaus for international transport in Guangzhou marked the formalization and enlargement of maritime commerce. During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), the federal government started organizing biannual worldwide commerce festivals in Guangzhou, welcoming abroad retailers. These historical variations of the “Canton Fair” centered on exporting silk, porcelain, tea, and material whereas importing woolen items, cotton, metals, and spices.
By the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), the Maritime Silk Road prolonged from Guangzhou to the world, and China was additionally related to the world by way of Guangzhou.
With its thousand-year historical past as a business metropolis, Guangzhou has developed traits of equality, inclusiveness, and pragmatism, shaping a positive enterprise environment.
In 1957, China started holding the China Import and Export Fair (Canton Fair) twice a yr in Guangzhou, which grew to become an essential channel for international change earnings. For over 60 years, the Canton Fair has by no means stopped and has performed a vital function as a wind vane and barometer of China’s international commerce.
Guangzhou, as an essential node within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, drives the Belt and Road Initiative continually. The Nansha Port in Guangzhou has turn into an essential financial and commerce hub within the south of China, connecting with 151 international commerce routes, together with 124 routes to the nations alongside the Belt and Road.
The port has enabled the environment friendly transportation of products, similar to plastics and pulp, from Europe to Vietnamese factories, saving roughly 10 days in comparison with conventional sea transportation, in accordance with Liu Heshun, basic supervisor of Guangzhou Port Logistics Co., Ltd.
Since 2016, Guangzhou Customs has supervised the import and export of 91,900 20-foot equal items of products by way of China-Europe freight trains, with a price of greater than 27 billion yuan, and the dimensions has continued to increase whereas the classes have turn into more and more numerous.
Moreover, the Pazhou synthetic intelligence and digital financial system pilot zone in Guangzhou has attracted main enterprises similar to Tencent, Alibaba, and Vipshop, selling the event of e-commerce, industrial web, large information, and digital creativity.
Guangzhou goals to offer a broader platform for deeper cooperation with nations and areas taking part within the Belt and Road Initiative, contributing its knowledge and the intelligence of the Greater Bay Area to the world’s growth.