On 5 July 2018, the opening ceremony of the 24th China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair (hereinafter referred to as the Lanzhou Fair) & the Forum on the Silk Road Cooperation and Development were held in Lanzhou, Gansu province. Mr. Guo Chuanwei, Trade and Investment Director of ASEAN-China Centre was invited to the events.

The events were presided by Mr. Tang Renjian, Deputy Secretary of CPC Gansu Provincial Committee and Governor of Gansu Province. H.E. Mr. Chen Xiaoguang, Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC, attended and announced the opening of the 24th Lanzhou Fair. H.E. Mr. Lin Duo, Secretary of CPC Gansu Provincial Committee, H.E. Mme. Gao Yan, Vice Minister of Ministry of Commerce of China, addressed the opening ceremony. Representatives of Guests of Honour, H.E. Mr. Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for National security, and Mr. Noh Young-min, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to China, made speeches at the forum. More than 400 representatives from government departments, provinces and municipalities of China, participating countries, international organizations and the media were present.

On behalf of the CPC Gansu Provincial Committee and Gansu Provincial Government, H.E. Mr. Lin Duo, Secretary of CPC Gansu Provincial Committee, extended a warm welcome to all the guests at home and abroad. He remarked that with the proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the ancient Silk Road has been endowed with new mission and added with new meaning. The Initiative has received high praise and wide participation from countries and regions along the routes. He said that Gansu was a strategic gateway and commercial city of the ancient Silk Road. With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, Gansu has become a prime lot for China’s westward opening and facing a precious turning point to integrate international cooperation and achieve self-revitalization. Gansu is willing to implement the important consensus reached by the world leaders on the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation with all parties, promote the cooperation in various fields and drive the booming development of the Silk Road.

H.E. Mme. Gao Yan, Vice Minister of Ministry of Commerce of China, stated in her remark that China is standing at a new starting point for opening up by implementing regional coordinated development and issuing a series of new reformative and innovative measures to promote the opening up of the western China under the new development concept. Since the Belt and Road Initiative has been proposed, western inland provinces, represented by Gansu, have once again become the forefront of opening-up. Therefore, Gansu gradually becomes a major gateway and a sub-regional cooperation strategic base for China’s westward opening and faces new major development opportunities. The convening of the 24th Lanzhou Fair is the important implementation of the current new opening-up measures. It will give full play to Gansu’s pivotal position and channel advantages, further integrate and serve the Belt and Road Initiative and promote the economic development of Gansu province and the western China.

At the Forum on the Silk Road Cooperation and Development, H.E. Mr. Teo Chee Hean, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore and Coordinating Minister for National Security, H.E. Mr. Noh Young-min, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to China, H.E. Mr. Ouyang Weimin, Vice Governor of Guangdong Province, and Dr. Choi Koo-shum, Chairman of the Chinese General Chamber of Commerce in Hongkong, made speeches on the themes of "Singapore-China Cooperation", "the Connectivity of Geopolitical Vision of the ROK and China", "the Sharing of Opportunities for Development between Guangdong and Gansu", and "the Complementary Advantages of Hongkong and Gansu".

The 24th China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair was co-sponsored by the Ministry of Commerce of China, State Administration for Market Regulation, Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council of China, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and the People’s Government of Gansu province. Under the theme of "Deepening Economic and Trade Cooperation for Joint Contribution to Green Silk Road", the 24th Lanzhou Fair set up 6 exhibition areas including Silk Road International Cooperation, Inter-provincial-autonomous-municipal Investment Cooperation, Entrepreneurial, Innovative and Scientific Achievements, Energy Conservation, Environment Protection and Advanced Manufacturing, as well as Ecology and Health. Over 20 investment and trade promotion activities such as Gansu Ecological Industry Cooperation Meeting and Central Asia-China (Gansu) Economic and Trade Cooperation Fair were held during the Fair. There were about 28,000 visitors to the Fair.

ASEAN-China Centre also assisted the sponsors of the Lanzhou Fair in inviting the commercial ministers and counsellors of the Embassy of Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam in China, as well as representatives from ASEAN business associations and enterprises including the Singa-China Association and Longjiang Industrial Park Co., Ltd in Vietnam to participate in related activities of this year’s fair.