On June 26, the International Symposium on the Silk Road Economic Belt, themed “The Silk Road Economic Belt——New Opportunities for Joint Contribution, Shared Benefits, Win-Win Cooperation and Common Prosperity,” opened in Urumqi. Zhang Chunxian, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Secretary of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Party Committee, and Cai Mingzhao, Director of the State Council Information Office, attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. In his address, Zhang Chunxian said that the strategic concept of the Silk Road Economic Belt is of great significance in the world economic and political landscape, and that this international symposium will surely play an important role in promoting communication, cooperation and exchanges among the countries and regions along the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Zhang Chunxian said that in September last year, during his visit to four Central Asian countries, President Xi Jinping first proposed the strategic concept of jointly building the Silk Road Economic Belt. This strategic concept not only carries forward the ancient Silk Road spirit centered on solidarity and mutual trust, equality and mutual benefit, inclusiveness and mutual learning, and win-win cooperation, but also conforms to the trend of the times, which seeks peace, development, cooperation and win-win outcomes.

Zhang Chunxian stated that Xinjiang, as China's bridgehead for opening up to the West, holds a very important position and role in the “Silk Road Economic Belt.” The Second Central Work Conference on Xinjiang specifically proposed accelerating the pace of Xinjiang's opening up and striving to build the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, which is a major historical opportunity for Xinjiang. Xinjiang will leverage its geographical advantages at the heart of the Eurasian continent, its cultural advantages as the convergence of four major civilizations, and its abundant resource advantages; it will make use of the golden period of economic and social development to intensify all-round opening up and build Xinjiang into a regional transport hub, a trade and logistics center, a financial center, a cultural, scientific and educational center, and a medical service center of the Silk Road Economic Belt, as well as a national base for large-scale oil and gas production, processing and storage, a national base for large-scale coal, coal power and coal chemical industries, a national base for large-scale wind power, and a major overland corridor for national energy and resources, striving to serve as the main force and vanguard in building the Silk Road Economic Belt.

In his address, Cai Mingzhao said that the strategic concept of the Silk Road Economic Belt connects the past and the present and links China and foreign countries, endowing the ancient Silk Road with a brand-new contemporary connotation. It is a great undertaking that benefits the people of all countries along the route and will become a banner guiding Eurasian cooperation and development, offering new ideas and new paths for building a better world of common development and common prosperity.

Cai Mingzhao stated that building the Silk Road Economic Belt requires upholding and carrying forward the Silk Road spirit, adhering to mutual respect and mutual trust, upholding mutually beneficial cooperation and joint contribution with shared benefits, and maintaining exchanges and mutual learning as well as harmonious coexistence. It is necessary to vigorously promote mutual understanding among the people of all countries, expand people-to-people exchanges among the countries along the route, strengthen cultural exchanges and cooperation, and deepen the friendship among the people of the countries along the route. Media of all countries should report more on economic and trade cooperation and friendly exchanges among the countries along the route, convey the message of joint contribution, shared benefits, win-win cooperation and common prosperity to the people of all countries, gather positive energy for building the Silk Road Economic Belt, and consolidate the public opinion foundation for the hearts of the people of the countries along the route to be linked and their roads to be connected.

The International Symposium on the Silk Road Economic Belt was hosted by the State Council Information Office and jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the China Foreign Languages Publishing Administration, and the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences. Two roundtable meetings were held, with the topics “The Silk Road: Past, Present and Future” and “Jointly Building the Silk Road Economic Belt and Creating a Community of Shared Interests with Mutual Benefit and Win-Win Outcomes.” More than 100 experts, scholars and media representatives from 23 countries, including China, Russia, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, Turkey and the United States, will engage in in-depth exchanges and discussions on the above topics.