Chinese Economist Stresses Involvement of West China in GlobalizationChinese economist Li Jingwen said Friday in Chengdu that China should use the new Euro-Asia Bridge to push forward the involvement of western China in economic globalization."It is a practical choice for western China to use the Euro-Asia bridge as a golden channel to merge into the world economy," Li said. Li, an expert of quantitative economy with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that the new Euro-Asia bridge helps foster a close relationship between the interior area of China with central Asia and European countries. The bridge also opens a channel for Japan, the Republic of Korea and southeast Asia to develop trade with European countries, central, western and southern Asia. The new Euro-Asia bridge, which is 4,131 kilometers long in China, starts at Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province, and runs through the major cities of 10 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions. The regions along the section of the railway in China contain 30 percent of China's total population, and account for 37 percent of the country's total land area. The regions are important production bases for energy resources and raw materials. Li pointed out that the development of the economic belt along the section of the railway in China should promote social and economic development in the western region to a new stage in 2010. He suggested that a frontier free trade zone be set up at the Alataw Pass, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and make it an important hub for trade, and economic and technological cooperation between Asia and Europe. Li said China's accession into the World Trade Organization has entered the final stage, and the world economic situation will change comparatively. Broader cooperation is expected between China and the world, especially with neighboring countries. |
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