The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Expo, the first of its kind, was held  in Fuzhou, capital of southeast China's Fujian Province, from May 17 to May 19.

The expo, which also served as the 17th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade, adopted the theme "Opening and cooperation, mutual win-win benefits: creating a new vision for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road."

The Chinese government has designated Fujian Province as the key area to carry out the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road strategy and has already set up the China Fujian Pilot Free Zone in Fuzhou to help promote the trade initiative.

The event is sponsored by the State Council, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the Ministry of Commerce and the Fujian Provincial People’s Government. It focuses on integrating the commodity and services trade, increasing investment and tourism cooperation and encouraging cultural exchanges to strengthen cooperation and expand collaboration on the Maritime Silk Road.

Great variety of exhibits

The expo and trade fair has attracted a total of 1,850 enterprises from 49 countries and regions, involving more than 5,100 participants and filling an exhibition area of 120,000 square meters.

Photo exhibitions are an important part of the expo. The photos on display at the event had previously been exhibited at the headquarters of the United Nations and in Penglai, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Ningbo, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Guangzhou and Beihai. They illustrated China’s trade in porcelain, silk, ceramics, gold, silver and spices, embodying the historical legacy upon which the Maritime Silk Road strategy has been built. Member countries of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue also contributed several photos to the exhibit.

A total of 234 enterprises from 30 ACD member countries opened 420 booths to display their products at the expo.

Other exhibit areas involve tourism culture, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan boutiques, international cuisine, a cross-Straits tea pavilion, Taiwan cuisine, cross-Straits modern equipment and electronics, cross-Straits green building materials, and products for pregnant women and babies.

Seven themed activities

Seven themed activities are planned for the event. Among them, the Asian Cooperation Dialogue Conference aims to jointly build a cooperative forum to collaborate on the "Belt and Road" initiatives.

Organizers of the ACD conference have invited officials from the foreign ministries or relevant departments of ACD member countries, ambassadors or representatives to China, and experts and scholars in related fields. The conference aims to promote the building of the "Belt and Road" initiatives, enhance Asian pragmatic cooperation, expand the role of regional multilateral financial institutions, promote Asian financial cooperation and business cooperation, and work toward common development, mutual promotion, and win-win development initiatives.

The China Fujian Free Trade Experimental Area Forum will address the Shanghai Free Trade Zone’s influence on Fuzhou, cross-Straits cooperation, cross-straits financial innovation, cross-border e-commerce, and the promotion of free trade development. Lecturers speaking at the event include Shi Liangping, director of the Institute of Economics at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences, and Li Fei, vice director of the Taiwan Research Institute at Xiamen University.

The Forum for Innovating and Developing Modern Service Industry Cooperation will concentrate on the "Belt and Road" initiatives’ potential to build a new platform for modern service industry cooperation and exchange in Asia.

A forum between Fuzhou and several universities that have cooperated with the city has invited leaders and professors from Tsinghua University, Renmin University of China, Fudan University, Beijing Normal University, and Xiamen University to discuss further cooperation.

Procurement negotiations at the expo provide a platform on which suppliers and buyers from both inland and coastal areas can negotiate and trade in order to expand their enterprises’ exports and market channels.

Another significant activity is the "Belt and Road" Initiatives’ cultural, trade and economic journey, which features a display of sport utility vehicles independently developed by Southeast Auto. The exhibit will tour 11 countries and regions along the Silk Road and will arrive in Milan, Italy, in October for the World Expo.

There is also a "three-dimensional" project-signing ceremony that will witness the finalization of a number of projects involving foreign companies, state-owned enterprises and private companies. So far, the city of Fuzhou has signed 342 projects at the 17th Cross-Straits Fair for Economy and Trade, 59 more than last year. Projects signed this year involve total investments of 235.3 billion yuan, 28.9 billion yuan more than last year.

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)