From July 24 to July 25, 2024, the International Seminar on Industrial Development for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” was held in Linyi City, Shandong Province. Deputy Secretary-General of the Secretariat of the “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Forum, Deputy Director of the Department of International Economics at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Guo Xuejun; Deputy Director of the Belt and Road Construction Promotion Center at the National Development and Reform Commission, Wang Yijun; Deputy Secretary of the Linyi Municipal Committee and Mayor Zhang Baoliang; Deputy Director-level cadre of the Shandong Provincial Development and Reform Commission, Wang Xiaoyan, and other relevant leaders attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. The hosting of this seminar is a specific measure to implement the outcomes of the third “Belt and Road” International Cooperation Forum, aiming to focus on the industrial development of the “Belt and Road”, providing a platform for all parties to summarize and exchange experiences and promote future cooperation.

The agenda of this seminar was divided into the opening ceremony, exchange discussions, and summary speeches held on July 24, and on July 25, a promotion event for the internationalization of the Linyi Mall and field visits were organized. The seminar focused on industrial cooperation under the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, with high-quality development as the theme, setting up five units: infrastructure and industrial investment, green and low-carbon, digital economy, health and wellness, and “small but beautiful” projects. These units showcased good experiences and practices in industrial cooperation from different perspectives, demonstrated the significant positive contributions made to promote the economic industries and social development of co-building countries, and jointly explored new paths for deepening industrial cooperation under the “Belt and Road”.

In the unit of “small but beautiful” projects assisting in the construction of the “Belt and Road”, a representative of the group gave a model speech on the Angolan Aode Industrial Park, an overseas economic and trade cooperation zone at the provincial level, which received praise from Ms. Filipa Gaspar, Economic Counselor of the Angolan Embassy in China.

The group has actively responded to the “Belt and Road” initiative, seized the opportunities of China-Africa cooperation, and deeply cultivated Africa for twenty years. Currently, it has formed four major industries: park development, building materials, chemicals, and overseas warehouses, establishing a comprehensive industrial platform for capacity cooperation between China and Africa, making positive contributions to local economic development and improvement of social livelihood.

In the next step, leveraging the opportunities presented by this international seminar on industrial development for the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”, the group will promptly implement cooperative projects to continue benefiting the people of China and Africa with tangible results, promoting continuous new heights in China-Africa economic and trade cooperation. It will continue to aid in the internationalization of the Linyi Mall and the high-quality economic development of Linyi, drawing on successful experiences and gathering production factors to accelerate the transformation of Linyi into a strategic node city under the “Belt and Road” initiative, contributing the strength of Zhongyang!