NANJING, Sept. 15 -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang read a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping at the opening ceremony of the China-Europe Railway Express Cooperation Forum on Friday in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, and delivered a speech, calling for joint efforts to develop the China-Europe Railway Express.
Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said as a flagship project and a landmark brand of the Belt and Road Initiative, the China-Europe Railway Express has explored a path of development featuring consensus building, win-win cooperation, and vitality. He said it has become a popular international public good and won widespread praise from the international community.
Ding called for joint efforts, unity, and coordination to develop the China-Europe Railway Express, open up a broader path for the common development of countries along the routes, and inject new impetus and vitality into the recovery of the world economy.
He stressed that the first thing is to jointly build an efficient transport system for the China-Europe Railway Express, accelerate the establishment and improvement of multilateral and bilateral inter-governmental cooperation mechanisms for the China-Europe Railway Express, promote the convergence of rules and standards, and continuously consolidate the foundation of international cooperation for the China-Europe Railway Express.
"Secondly, we should jointly build a safety governance system for the China-Europe Railway Express, strengthen security risk management along the lines, deepen information exchange and cooperation, strengthen law enforcement cooperation, improve emergency response capabilities, create a safe and stable development environment for the China-Europe Railway Express, and jointly set a model for international transport safety," Ding said.
He said the third thing is to explore new international transport routes and accelerate the formation of a diversified pattern of the China-Europe Railway Express while building and maintaining existing transport routes.
"Fourthly, we will jointly build an innovative development system for the China-Europe Railway Express, promote the IT application, digitization, and intelligent construction, accelerate the application of green and environmental protection technologies, and make it more beneficial to the people of countries along the routes," he added.
First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar read a written message from Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and delivered a speech at the opening ceremony.
After the opening ceremony, Ding met with Roman Sklyar to exchange views on China-Kazakhstan relations and bilateral cooperation in various fields.
The forum, which opened on Friday, was themed "Deepening Interconnectivity and Promoting Win-Win Cooperation." Experts and scholars from home and abroad, entrepreneurs, government officials, and representatives of international organizations attended the opening ceremony.
