Guiyang, the capital of southwestern China's Guizhou province, is taking big strides in opening up to the outside world, aiming for high-quality economic development, the city's mayor, Chen Yan, said.
Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing annual session of the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, Chen said, "We plan to form a comprehensive opening-up system covering more fields by 2020, with total foreign trade volume exceeding $5 billion."
The system is expected to boost the city's foreign trade volume to $50 billion by 2035, added Chen, who is also an NPC deputy.
He said the proposed foreign investment law, widely discussed among national legislators and political advisers during the two sessions, will further fuel the city's opening-up by giving it a strong legal foundation.
The drafting of the law included thorough consideration of the need to protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors in China, he said.
Guiyang, also known as "China's Data Valley", has seen foreign trade grow rapidly in recent years. The total volume of foreign trade reached $3.49 billion in 2018, up by 15.2 percent year-on-year, according to the city government, and the growth rate was 2.6 percentage points higher than the national average.
"Guiyang ranks first in Guizhou province in terms of growth rate, thanks to all-around measures and policies," Chen said.
Although $3.49 billion is a small fraction of the country's total trade volume of $4.62 trillion, it is remarkable for a mountainous, inland city like Guiyang with relatively limited resources, he said. Guiyang has managed to transform its geographical challenges into strengths by extending its traffic connections with neighboring regions, the mayor said.
The city now has an expressway network that stretches 602 kilometers, and high-speed trains link it to major cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou in Guangdong province, and Hong Kong within seven hours, according to the city government. More than 160 air routes connect Guiyang to major domestic and foreign cities, it said.
The transportation network has served the city's opening-up well, giving it smooth connections with major ports along the Yangtze River Economic Belt in the north and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road in the south, Chen said.
"We have trade with over 160 countries and regions in both production and services," he said, adding that the city's biggest trade partners are the members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the United States, Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand.
The city has established an active foreign trade market, including trading with 64 countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, Chen said, adding that the volume of BRI trade reached $1.55 billion last year.
Guiyang plans further opening-up efforts to accelerate its development and catch up with more developed regions, he said.
"The focus of our future cooperation will be the companies and projects related to the major national campaigns," Chen said. "We plan to introduce companies in manufacturing, tourism and biomedicine, the industries we want to promote, from the major trade partners - European countries, Japan, South Korea, ASEAN countries - and also developed domestic regions."
