Opinions & Interviews

BEIJING, 21 September (BelTA) - Vice Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China Zhang Gaoli took note of the progress made in the Chinese-Belarusian industrial park Great Stone project as he spoke to the delegates of the Silk Road Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road in Beijing on 21 September, BelTA has learned.

Taking part in the meeting on Belarus’ behalf was BelTA Director General Dmitry Zhuk and Editor-in-Chief of the Respublika newspaper Vasily Matveyev.

Zhang Gaoli marked considerable progress in the project since the decision on the construction of the industrial park was taken. The necessary infrastructure has already been provided, with industrial facilities being currently developed. “It is important that other countries are showing interest in the project,” he added.

Zhang Gaoli emphasized the success of the Silk Road Media Cooperation Forum on Belt and Road, which took place in China’s Dunhuang. He noted that such international meetings are a key to establishing mutual understanding and new efficient ties.

The participants of the forum discussed the influence of the Belt and Road initiative put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping on the processes in the global economy, opportunities of multilateral cooperation in information and technology, and the challenges that the traditional mass media face in view of the rapidly developing new forms of media. The international meeting that gathered more than 300 delegates from about 250 mass media outlets from different countries was organized by China’s newspaper Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily).

According to Zhang Gaoli, China will continue strengthening media and think tank cooperation as part of the Belt and Road initiative. This will promote inter-civilization dialogue, he said.

In his words, China will also continue the construction of an open economy. “We understand that the outside world impacts the development of the Chinese economy. This year the Chinese economy has been demonstrating positive momentum. We have recently made great headway in addressing corruption and environmental issues,” Zhang Gaoli said.