The opening ceremony of Xi’an Silk Road International Tourism Expo (XSRITE) 2019 was held in the ancient capital of Xi’an on 29 March. H. E. Mr. Wei Zengjun, Vice Governor of Shaanxi Province, H. E. Mr. HOR Monirath, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Mr. Zhang Xilong, Deputy Director-General of International Exchange and Cooperation Bureau of Culture and Tourism Ministry of China and over 400 delegates from home and abroad were present at the event. H. E. Mr. Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), attended and delivered remarks.
In his welcome speech, Vice Governor Wei Zengjun said that thanks to the Belt and Road Initiative, the international influence of XSRITE is growing steadily. He encouraged all the participants to make full use of XSRITE 2019 for closer cooperation, better communication and mutual learning among different civilizations.
On behalf of Cambodia, the guest country of honor of XSRITE 2019, Secretary of State HOR Monirath expressed his sincere appreciation to the organizers and introduced the current developments and relevant policies of Cambodian tourism industry. Chinese tourists and business people are warmly welcome to visit and invest in Cambodia, said the Secretary of State.

Secretary-General Chen Dehai stated that since ASEAN-China strategic partnership was established 15 years ago, the political mutual trust between the two sides has been deepening and the practical cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The XSRITE would become another important platform for cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides. ACC stands ready to join hands with all the relevant parties to improve bilateral exchanges and cooperation in various fields.
XSRITE is China’s first international tourism expo with the theme of “Silk Road”. This year, there were a total of 43 participating countries and regions including four ASEAN countries, namely, Cambodia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. ACC set up its booth in the international area at XSRITE 2019 to promote ASEAN cultural and tourism resources to the general public.