From 3 to 9 November 2019, the ASEAN-China Centre (ACC) organized a familiarisation trip for diplomats and journalists from ASEAN Member States (AMS) stationed in Beijing to visit Shaanxi Province, during which they travelled to four cities, namely, Weinan, Xi 'an, Xianyang and Baoji. Headed by Ms. Razida Hanim Binti Abdul Razak, Minister Counsellor of the Malaysia Embassy in China, the delegation includes diplomats from nine embassies of Brunei, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, as well as journalists from Viet Nam and Malaysia. Mr. Wang Zhiquan, Deputy Director of Information and Public Relations Division of ACC attended relevant activities.

During the visit, Mr. Xu Qifang, Vice Governor of Shaanxi Province and Secretary of Baoji Municipal Committee of the CPC, Mr. Yao Jianhong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shaanxi Provincial Government, Mr. Li Anjhun, Secondary Counsel of Foreign Affairs Office of Shaanxi, Mr. Yang Wumin, Vice Mayor of Weinan City and other local government leaders and heads of relevant departments met with the delegation respectively. The delegation visited the Weinan High-tech Development Zone, Weinan Economic Development Zone, Airport New City in Xi’an, Qinhan New Town in Xixian New District,  Xianyang Culture and Sports Function Area，Caijiapo Economic Development Zone in Baoji city. They attended the Opening Ceremony of Baoji Culture and Art Centre and Conference on Development of Baoji Cultural Industry, visited Beiren Printing Machinery company, Zhongken Dairy company, Enzyme R&D Centre, Huahan Logistics, SF Cold Chain Warehouse, Fast Eaton (Baoji) Light Duty Transmission company, Xifeng Group and other well-known enterprises. The delegation also visited Xiaozhang controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) in Weinan and Liuying Folk Village of Fengxiang County in Baoji, toured Xianyang Public Cultural Centre, Xianyang Olympic Centre, Weinan Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition, the Shaanxi History Museum, the Terracotta Warriors, Baoji Bronze Ware Museum, enjoyed the splendid performance of Shaanxi Puppet Shadow Play, folk music Huazhou Lao Qiang, a symphony concert in Baoji, and appreciated the captivating scenery of Mount Hua. Through the visit, they gained an in-depth understanding of local economic and social development, especially Shaanxi's plan to develop three economies, namely, the hub economy, mobile economy and portal economy. They also came to realise the unique advantages and key areas of development for different cities. The delegation exchanged views with all parties on expanding friendly exchanges and cooperation between ASEAN and Shaanxi countries in various fields.

Vice Governor Xu Qifang welcomed the delegation and gave a comprehensive and detailed introduction of Shaanxi Province, especially Baoji City, including its history, culture, economic and social development. He pointed out that as the second largest city in Shaanxi, Baoji is a famous historical and cultural city, an important hub on the Silk Road, a big equipment manufacturer, a major tourist destination featured by typical landscape of the western China as well as a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship. He hoped to see the delegation acquire a comprehensive understanding of Baoji's unique advantages in equipment manufacturing, high-tech industry, culture and tourism industry, etc. Baoji would work with ASEAN countries to open up a new chapter of exchanges and cooperation in various fields within the framework of BRI international cooperation.

Vice Mayor Yang Wumin said that being the east gate of Shaanxi and an important hub on the Silk Road, Weinan City is known for its long history, abundant resources, and rapid development of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries. In recent years, Weinan has stepped up its efforts of opening up, and carried out more friendly exchanges and mutual learning activities to promote international cooperation. He expressed hope that the delegation could see for themselves what Weinan has to offer, continue to support its development, and play a bridging role to facilitate exchanges and cooperation between Weinan and ASEAN countries.
On behalf of the ASEAN side, Minister Counsellor Razida thanked ACC and the Shaanxi Provincial Government for co-hosting the event, saying that the week-long visit was rich in content and diverse in form, fully displaying Shaanxi's rich history and culture, beautiful landscape and special social customs. She expressed admiration for and congratulations on the achievements made in the development of agriculture, manufacturing and tertiary industries in Shaanxi Province. She stressed that ASEAN always attaches importance to friendly cooperation with China. China is ASEAN's largest trading partner and ASEAN has become China's second largest trading partner. In recent years, ASEAN has been committed to further improving the investment environment, strengthening infrastructure, and fostering public support to develop good-neighbourliness and friendship. She was convinced that this visit would promote cooperation between ASEAN and China at local level, enhance mutual understanding and trust and promote win-win cooperation.

Diplomats from the AMS embassies and journalists stationed in Beijing all agreed to share what they saw and heard with their colleagues and readers to promote Shaanxi to more people from ASEAN countries, and work together to deepen practical cooperation between ASEAN countries and Shaanxi in various fields. They expressed wish that ACC would continue to organise such activities in the future to help ASEAN embassies in China establish connections with different localities in China.

 

 
This is the second year for ACC to organise a trip of such kind outside Beijing. The event was co-hosted by ACC and the Shaanxi Foreign Affairs Office, and organised by China Radio International Shaanxi Channel.