Gateway to Eurasia
By XIAO DING
【期刊名称】北京周报（英文版） 【年(卷),期】2011(000)032 【总页数】1
With its privileged location and rapid economic development, Xinjiang is becoming China’s bridgehead to Eurasian states
As early as 2,200 years ago, Xinjiang was known as an important part of the Silk Road, the vital trade route that connected China with Central Asian, West Asian and even Mediterranean nations. Even today its natural location gives Xinjiang an insuperable advantage in terms of trade with Eurasian states. In 2010 China decided to hold the China-Eurasia Expo annually in Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi as part of a strategy to accelerate the region’s development. The first expo will be held between September 1 and 5 this year.
According to Chen Ji, Deputy Director of the Xinjiang-Eurasia Expo Secretariat, the event will replace the former Urumqi Foreign Economic Relations and Trade Fair. “In some ways it’s an upgrade but the China-Eurasia Expo is not just a trade fair,”Chen said.
Chen said the new expo would be a platform for diplomacy between China and the Eurasian states and a channel that promotes Xinjiang’s cooperation with China’s neighboring countries particularly Russia,
Gateway to Eurasia
