Archive for ‘Tourism’

26/09/2019

Spotlight: China, Kazakhstan reaffirm commitment to strengthening ties

KAZAKHSTAN-CHINA-LI ZHANSHU-VISIT

Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, meets with First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev in Kazakhstan, Sept. 23, 2019. Li paid an official goodwill visit to Kazakhstan from Sept. 21 to 25 at the invitation of Dariga Nazarbayeva, speaker of the Kazakh Parliament’s Upper House, Nurlan Nigmatulin, speaker of the Kazakh Parliament’s Lower House. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

NUR-SULTAN, Sept. 25 (Xinhua) — Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, and Kazakh leaders have agreed here to boost mutually beneficial cooperation in various areas.

During an official goodwill visit from Saturday to Wednesday, Li met with First President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev and conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to him.

Li told Nazarbayev that China and Kazakhstan are good neighbors and the most reliable friends and partners.

Li said China and Kazakhstan have decided to develop a permanent comprehensive strategic partnership and build a community with a shared future, and their ties have become a model of interstate relations following 27 years of development since the establishment of their diplomatic relationship.

Both sides need to strengthen political mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, Li said, adding that China has full confidence in the future of Kazakhstan and will continue to support the Central Asian country in pursuing its development path that suits its national conditions.

Nazarbayev told Li that China is a good friend of his country and China’s development is vital to Kazakhstan.

He said strengthening Kazakhstan-China cooperation is in line with the two countries’ interests, and Kazakhstan always prioritizes in its foreign policy cementing and developing ties with China.

At a meeting with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Li conveyed Xi’s good wishes to him.

Li said the construction of a Silk Road Economic Belt was first proposed in Kazakhstan, and both countries as permanent comprehensive strategic partners should respect, trust and support each other no matter how the global and regional situations develop.

China and Kazakhstan should improve the alignment of their development strategies and boost cooperation in production capacities, energy, agriculture, inter-connectivity, finance, cross-border e-commerce, high-technology, education, sports, culture and tourism, Li said.

Tokayev said that Kazakhstan, located in the center of the Eurasian continent, will always be a friendly neighbor of China. He praised China’s key role in maintaining global security and stability.

The Belt and Road Initiative is significant to Kazakhstan, which is ready to strengthen cooperation with China, implement bilateral agreements and achieve more outcomes.

At talks with Dariga Nazarbayeva, speaker of the Kazakh parliament’s upper house, and Nurlan Nigmatulin, speaker of the lower house, Li said the two legislatures should implement the important consensuses reached by the heads of state and facilitate bilateral cooperation with legislation and favorable policy.

Li said the two legislatures should push for the signing of an updated version of the China-Kazakhstan investment protection pact, streamline procedures for customs clearance and work permits, and create a sound investment environment.

Nazarbayeva said that strengthening Kazakhstan-China cooperation has particular significance as the world is fraught with risks and challenges, and that she expects better quality in such cooperation.

Nigmatulin said the Kazakh parliament is willing to compare notes on legislation and supervision with the NPC of China.

During his visit, Li and Kazakh Prime Minister Askar Mamin attended the opening ceremony of the China Construction Bank’s Astana office.

Li listened to a report about the Astana International Financial Center and encouraged financial institutions in the center to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The Chinese top legislator also visited the site of the 2017 Astana Expo and the national museum.

Source: Xinhua

22/09/2019

Spotlight: China, Azerbaijan pledge to strengthen cooperation

AZERBAIJAN-BAKU-LI ZHANSHU-VISIT

Li Zhanshu (L), chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, meets with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev in Baku, Azerbaijan, Sept. 19, 2019. Li paid an official goodwill visit to Azerbaijan from Sept. 19 to 21 at the invitation of Ogtay Asadov, speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BAKU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) of China, and top Azerbaijani officials have agreed here to strengthen bilateral cooperation in various areas.

During an official goodwill visit from Thursday to Saturday, Li met with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and conveyed Chinese President Xi Jinping’s cordial greetings to him.

Li briefed Aliyev on the great achievements of the People’s Republic of China since its founding 70 years ago, saying that the Communist Party of China is forging ahead on the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics in line with China’s national conditions.

The socialism with Chinese characteristics has now entered a new era, and China under the leadership of Xi is striving to achieve its “two centenary goals” and realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Li told Aliyev.

China deems Azerbaijan as an important partner in Eurasia and is ready to implement the blueprint made by Xi and Aliyev on the development of bilateral ties, further cement political mutual trust, strengthen practical cooperation in various areas, and jointly safeguard the two countries’ security and development interests, Li said.

Aliyev asked Li to convey his best wishes to Xi and said he had witnessed the great changes in China with his own eyes during his repeated trips to the country and that he admired such achievements.

Azerbaijan-China relations are developing rapidly with a rosy future, he said, adding that his country firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and intends to combat jointly with China the “three forces” of terrorism, separatism and extremism, and improve their coordination and cooperation on international and regional issues.

LEGISLATIVE EXCHANGES

During a meeting with Ogtay Asadov, speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan, Li said his visit was aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two legislatures and implementing the important consensuses reached by the two heads of state.

The Chinese top legislator suggested both sides increase interactions at various levels, exchange experience on governing the countries, and provide legal assurance for bilateral practical cooperation.

Every country has a unique history, national situation and culture, so different civilizations should coexist harmoniously and learn from each other, Li said.

The NPC of China is willing to work with the National Assembly of Azerbaijan to promote cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries, learn from each other, and cement public support for bilateral relations, he said.

Asadov said Li was the first top Chinese legislator to visit Azerbaijan in 19 years and that the trip has injected new vitality into the development of bilateral relations and the interactions between the two legislatures.

Azerbaijan and China have signed many cooperation deals and the two legislatures should help to deliver on the agreements, Asadov said.

An increasing number of Azerbaijani people are interested in Chinese culture and there is a need to promote educational, cultural and youth exchanges, he said.

ECONOMIC COOPERATION

At a meeting with Azerbaijani Prime Minister Novruz Mammadov, Li said Azerbaijan is located at the junction of Europe and Asia and is an important country along the Belt and Road.

Li said China is ready to boost economic and trade exchanges with Azerbaijan and enhance cooperation with the country in jointly building the Belt and Road and achieve more cooperation outcomes in such fields as energy, agriculture, transportation, logistics, tourism and informatization.

He welcomed Azerbaijan to the second China International Import Expo to be held in early November in Shanghai.

Mammadov said his country was among the earliest participants in the Belt and Road Initiative and is ready to expand cooperation with China in various areas.

He welcomed more Chinese investments in Azerbaijan and expected cooperation with China on the construction of a Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor so that more Chinese goods can hit the Eurasian market via Azerbaijan.

During his stay in Baku, Li also visited the Heydar Aliyev Center and a carpet museum, and laid a wreath at the tomb of former President Heydar Aliyev and the Eternal Flame.

Source: Xinhua

21/09/2019

Interview: China, Azerbaijan enjoy promising prospects in co-building B&R, says Chinese ambassador

BAKU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) — China and Azerbaijan enjoy promising prospects in co-building the Belt and Road, Chinese Ambassador to Azerbaijan Guo Min said in a recent exclusive interview with Xinhua.

With a sound and steady development of bilateral relations, Guo praised the advantages of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) for both sides, emphasizing Azerbaijan’s full support for and involvement in the construction of the Belt and Road.

She said Azerbaijan sees the development of relationship with China as a diplomatic priority. “China and Azerbaijan have exchanged frequent high-level visits since the beginning of this year, with mutual political trust deepening even further.”

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev attended the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in Beijing in April, said Guo, adding “the leaders of the two countries reached important consensus to further develop bilateral relations and practical cooperation in various fields.”

“Cooperation in trade, energy, transportation, humanities and other fields has yielded fruits,” she said, noting bilateral trade reached 1.5 billion U.S. dollars from January to August, an increase of 104 percent from the same period last year.

“In recent years, the two nations have been promoting cooperation in a number of areas, including education, culture, health, sports and tourism on a continuous basis,” said the ambassador.

The two countries “have exchanged the visits of culture and art figures and held a wide range of film festivals, art exhibitions and other activities to actively promote unity, mutual understanding and friendly exchanges between the people,” according to Guo.

“At the next stage, the two nations should capitalize on the existing potential and focus on more points of interest,” the ambassador said.

She described the deep traditional friendship, high-level mutual political trust and the highly complementary practical cooperation as key foundations and effective guarantees for the stability and improvement of bilateral relations.

“China is willing to work together with Azerbaijan to push Sino-Azerbaijani friendship and cooperation to a new level and benefit the two countries and their peoples,” the ambassador added.

Source: Xinhua

20/09/2019

China’s border region expedites reform to build a financial gateway for ASEAN

NANNING, Sept. 19 (Xinhua) — Pham Thi Nguyet Hoa, a vendor living in Vietnam’s Mong Cai, comes to Dongxing, a southern Chinese port city, to sell Vietnam fruits every day. When night falls, she often ends up with thousands of yuan in her pocket, much more than what she can earn at home.

“Most of my customers are Chinese, and it is very convenient to exchange Chinese yuan to Vietnamese Dong as many banks in Dongxing have this currency exchange service,” said Pham.

Tourism has been a pillar industry in the border city of southern China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Dongxing port saw 12 million people, of which half were tourists, pass through last year, ranking first among all land ports in China.

In the first six months this year, tourism consumption at the port exceeded 6.2 billion yuan (874 million U.S. dollars), up 40.4 percent from the year before.

The flourishing border tourism has brought a huge demand for currency exchange, with a slew of financial reforms rolled out in recent years.

In 2014, the ABC China (Dongxing Experimental Zone) ASEAN Currency business center was established in Dongxing, allowing direct convertibility of Chinese yuan and Vietnamese Dong.

In February 2018, a total of 8 million yuan was transferred in cash from Vietnam to China, marking the first cross-border cash transfer in Guangxi between China and Vietnam.

Fan Zuojun, vice president of Guangxi University, said the cross-border cash transfer will further promote the financial cooperation between China and Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) as well as deepen reform and push forward the internationalization of the Chinese currency in the region.

China and ASEAN countries have always maintained close relations in trade.

In January 2010, the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area was set up, which has significantly boosted bilateral trade. China has maintained its position as the largest trading partner of ASEAN for 10 consecutive years, and trade between China and ASEAN has skyrocketed tenfold from 16 years ago to 587.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2018.

In the first half of 2019, ASEAN became China’s second-largest trading partner, with bilateral trade volume reaching 291.85 billion U.S. dollars, up 4.2 percent year on year.

Guangxi’s geographical advantages have also given it huge development dividends over the past decades. ASEAN has been Guangxi’s largest trade partner for 19 consecutive years, and trade volume between Guangxi and ASEAN in the first seven months of this year topped 128 billion yuan, accounting for 48.7 percent of Guangxi’s total foreign trade.

Now with the launch of the Guangxi Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) in August, bilateral trade exchanges are expected to embrace another golden opportunity.

The pilot FTZ, with a total area of nearly 120 square km, will focus on modern financial services, smart logistics, digital economy, port shipping logistics, international trade and cross-border tourism, among others.

Guangxi vows to make greater efforts to consolidate its financial strength and build itself into an ASEAN-oriented financial portal, with over 90 financial reform measures being rolled out to further facilitate trade and investment and promote innovation in financial services with ASEAN countries.

Source: Xinhua
05/09/2019

Fourth China-Arab states expo opens in NW China

CHINA-NINGXIA-CHINA-ARAB STATES EXPO-OPENING (CN)

The fourth China-Arab States Expo is opened in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Sept. 5, 2019. (Xinhua/Feng Kaihua)

YINCHUAN, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) — The fourth China-Arab States Expo opened Thursday in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

The four-day event will feature trade fairs and forums on infrastructure, Internet plus healthcare, high technology, modern agriculture, logistics, tourism, digital economy and industrial cooperation.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and Ningxia regional government, this year’s event attracts around 12,600 participants from 2,900 regional organizations, commerce chambers, associations and enterprises in 89 countries, according to the organizer of the expo.

Source: Xinhua

03/09/2019

China, Arab states to promote Belt and Road tourism

YINCHUAN, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — China and Arab states are seeking to boost cooperation in tourism along the Belt and Road at an upcoming conference in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

As part of the fourth China-Arab States Expo, the 2019 China-Arab States Tour Operators Conference will be held on Sept. 4-7.

More than 100 representatives from 13 countries including Egypt, and a dozen Chinese provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities are expected to hold discussions on tourism exchanges.

The conference will focus on the future development of tourism along the Belt and Road through promotional events, project signings and tour routes explorations, according to the regional department of culture and tourism.

“Ningxia is reaching out to the world under the Belt and Road Initiative,” said Zhao Mingxia, deputy head of the department.

As a pivot along the ancient Silk Road, Ningxia astonishes tourists with its picturesque landscape, a combination of both the beauty of Chinese southern canal towns and the magnificent scenery of the north

Source: Xinhua

28/08/2019

Chinese premier holds talks with Uzbek PM to boost ties

CHINA-BEIJING-LI KEQIANG-UZBEK PM-TALKS (CN)

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (L) holds a welcoming ceremony for visiting Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov before their talks in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 27, 2019. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks Tuesday with visiting Uzbek Prime Minister Abdulla Aripov, and the two sides agreed to cement cooperation.

Li said China attaches great importance to China-Uzbekistan relations and is willing to maintain close high-level exchanges with Uzbekistan, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, and strengthen communication and coordination in international and regional affairs.

Li said China is ready to seek synergy between the Belt and Road Initiative and Uzbekistan’s development strategy, deepen cooperation in production capacity, interconnection and agriculture, and make efforts to ensure the stability of energy cooperation.

He expected the two sides to promote cooperation in culture, tourism and higher education, so as to consolidate the people-to-people foundation of bilateral ties.

China is willing to continue to expand the scale of bilateral trade, import Uzbek products that meet the needs of the Chinese market, and support capable Chinese companies investing in Uzbekistan in accordance with market rules, Li said, hoping Uzbekistan will create a good business environment.

Aripov said Uzbekistan is ready to continue to participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen cooperation in various fields, and welcome Chinese enterprises to expand investment in Uzbekistan, so as to push bilateral relations to a higher level.

The two leaders witnessed the signing of a series of cooperation documents after the talks.

Source: Xinhua

16/08/2019

China-Arab States tourism fair to be held in NW China

YINCHUAN, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) — The China-Arab States Tour Operators Conference 2019 will be held from Sept. 4 to 7 in Yinchuan, capital of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, local authorities said Thursday.

According to the region’s department of culture and tourism, the four-day event will include a series of activities such as tourism resources promotion, tourism cooperation and exchange between China and Arab countries, and investment project negotiation.

Tourism officials from Indonesia, Morocco and Chad, as well as some 120 traders from China and 15 countries along the Belt and Road including Singapore, the Republic of Korea and Egypt, will participate.

Tourism resources and products such as the starry sky, the Great Wall, intangible cultural heritage and wine in Ningxia will be presented in the form of a stage drama at the fair.

Foreign participants will also introduce their tourism resources to further integrate Ningxia into regional tourism along the Belt and Road.

Traditional handicrafts such as papercutting, embroidery, wood carving and clay sculptures will be displayed to propel the development of the cultural tourism industry in the region, according to Zhao Mingxia, deputy director of the culture and tourism department.

Source: Xinhua

01/07/2019

First China-Africa Economic, Trade Expo closes in central China

CHANGSHA, June 30 (Xinhua) — The first China-Africa Economic and Trade Expo closed Saturday in Changsha, the capital city of central China’s Hunan Province.

A total of 84 deals worth 20.8 billion U.S. dollars were reached in trade, agriculture, tourism and other fields during the three-day event, which saw 14 activities, including the opening ceremony, seminars, conferences and forums, as well as an exhibition.

Experts, businessmen and officials from China and African countries discussed the new methods of the cooperation between the two sides during the event.

International organizations including the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the World Food Programme and the World Trade Organization have sent representatives to the expo.

The expo, with an exhibition area of more than 40,000 square meters, attracted over 100,000 guests and traders, including those from 53 African countries, according to the organizing committee.

Source: Xinhua

18/04/2019

Cambodian, Chinese entrepreneurs meet to explore business opportunities

PHNOM PENH, April 18 (Xinhua) — A Cambodian and Chinese entrepreneurs meeting was held here on Thursday, aiming at exploring opportunities for trade and investment, officials said.

The meeting brought together nearly 20 entrepreneurs from southwest China’s Sichuan province and about 20 Cambodian business executives.

Ek Sam Ol, president of the Cambodia-China Friendship Association, said that currently, many enterprises from Sichuan have been doing businesses in various sectors in Cambodia.

“The forum is a good opportunity for the entrepreneurs from both sides to exchange experiences and to explore opportunities for investments or business partnerships,” he said.

Sam Ol said China is currently the top foreign investor in Cambodia and Chinese investments have importantly contributed to socio-economic development in the country.

He said Chinese investments have focused on a variety of sectors including transport infrastructure, hydropower plants, industrial zones, garment and footwear factories, banking and finance, real estate and construction, agriculture, tourism, and airlines.

Source: Xinhua

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