A Bridge Across Eurasia

By+Ma+Xiaowen

Sanja Vasiljevic， a Serbian botanist， has got a new job title—assistant director for science at the Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops on the New Silk Roads， a newly founded research institution in Serbia in response to the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. Her institution is about to collaborate with Chinas Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University， based in Shaanxi Province， on agricultural science and high-effi ciency agriculture in an attempt to harvest opportunities from the initiative.

More and more such programs are cropping up in the northwestern province， as various organizations reach out for opportunities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the 2017 Silk Road International Exposition held in Xian， capital of Shaanxi， offi cials from various countries and Chinese provinces explained how they intended to take advantage of the new Silk Road.

The five-day event consisted of 20 high-level conferences and international forums. According to Zhang Xiaoning， a member of the organizing committee， during the event， Shaanxi introduced 422 projects， covering agriculture， energy and chemical industry， manufacturing， light textiles， food， medicine， and strategic emerging industries. The province signed foreign investment contracts worth $5.72 billion at the expo.

Qian Keming， Vice Minister of Commerce， noted that the Belt and Road Initiative is a long-term project that requires all sides to work together to put the plan into practice.

“The 2017 Silk Road International Exposition is a platform to boost exchanges between participating nations and cities involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and it aims to enhance practical cooperation，” he said.

“This Silk Road expo is aimed at carrying out the plans and targets set out at the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation， pushing forward exchanges， and establishing platforms and mechanisms for pragmatic cooperation，” said Wei Zengjun， Vice Governor of Shaanxi.

Zhao Runmin， head of Shaanxi Provincial Department of Commerce， said Shaanxi has actively participated in the Belt and Road Initiative and made progress in conducting trade and business cooperation with participating nations and regions.

According to Zhao， in 2016， Shaanxistrade volume with nations and regions along the Belt and Road was 23.11 billion yuan （$3.41 billion）， over 11 percent of the provinces GDP. For the fi rst quarter of 2017， the fi gure was 6.62 billion yuan （$973 million）， rising over 10 percent from a year earlier.

Looking for opportunities

This years Silk Road expo served as platform for various countries and Chinese provinces that want to boost trade and investment.

Representatives from 27 nations participating in the Belt and Road Initiative such as Russia， Germany， Australian and Brazil took part in the event， with many looking for new development opportunities.

Serbia， as the events guest country of honor， sent a delegation to attract Chinese investment.

Serbia was the first country that China established a comprehensive strategic partnership with in Central and Eastern Europe. Now the Eastern European country is striving to deepen its economic ties with China.“It is a good chance for Serbia to introduce its traditional culture， tourism resources and major products to China，” said Rasim Ljajic， Serbias Deputy Prime Minister.

Wang Lu， a project operations director at China Road and Bridge Corp. （CRBC）， told Beijing Review that Chinese companies are undertaking some major transportation and infrastructure projects in Serbia， together with Serbian enterprises， including power plants， roads and railways. The CRBC also participated in the construction of the China-Serbia Industrial Park.

Kragujevac， a city located in central Serbia， resembles Xian in many ways， especially in the geographic location.

Igor Mitrovic， a member of the Kragujevac council in charge of fi nance and property， told Beijing Review that Serbia had brought four major business plans to Shaanxi—Food Road， the Valter Film Factory， Dragon Entertainment Park， and Phoenix Industrial Park.

According to Vasiljevic， Food Road is an agricultural products trade route. She said as a global provider of agricultural products， Serbia hopes to export its honey， beef， lamb， vegetables and rice to more participating nations along the Belt and Road.

“Kragujevac is also a city with a long history and cultural resources，” Mitrovic told Beijing Review. “We have come to China to fi nd investors to develop our economy.”

More talks with Serbia on cooperation in trade， investment and tourism were held during the expo， and concrete results were achieved on cooperation projects.

Csongrad， a county in Hungary， also profi ted from the event.

“We discovered possibilities in the province， shared a lot of information and made good friends， from which we can harvest fruits in the near future，” said Bela Kakas， President of the General Assembly of Csongrad County， at a forum on business cooperation between the county and Shaanxi on the sidelines of the expo， on June 8.

Building mechanisms

During the expo， various forums and seminars focusing on trade and business， green energy， urbanization and education cooperation were held in Xian.

In a business roundtable on June 4， representatives from 35 international chambers of commerce reached a consensus to strengthen pragmatic cooperation following the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration.

In all 300 education administrators gathered in Xian and conceptualized a bunch of Belt and Road educational institutions including The Belt and Road Vocational Education Alliances， International Hang and Tang College， Polish Studies Center and Arabic Culture Studies Center in Xian International Studies University， and a training center on laws concerning foreign affairs in the China（Shaanxi） Pilot Free Trade Zone.

The educational cooperation will include exchanges between students and international scholars， and the construction of think tanks.

As a hub of the new Eurasia Land Bridge and the starting point of the ancient Silk Road， Shaanxi has rich cultural and educational resource. Xian boasts 49 universities and over 3，000 scientifi c institutions， making it one of Chinas top five education and research centers.

Xu Tao， Director General of the Department of International Cooperation and Exchange at the Ministry of Education， said the ministry will work with Shaanxi to better utilize its regional advantage and encourage language and culture studies related to the Belt and Road.