Zhang Hong, Member of Standing Committee of CPC Urumqi Municipal Committee
Standing Vice Mayor of Urumqi;
(September, 2, 2007)
Honored leaders, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen:

At the opening of the High-Level Forum on Regional Economic Cooperation between China and Central-West-South Asia 2007, here, on behalf of the People’s Government of Urumqi, I, would like to express passionate congratulation to the conference! Showing warmly welcome and ardent greeting to the guests having traveled a long way from far places to here!
Holding in Urumqi, this important Forum is from Aug. 14 to 18, followed by Chairman Hu Jintao, carried out the State Visits on invitation of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, attended the Bishkek Summit Conference of Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and went to Russia to view the combination anti-terrorism military maneuver of the member countries of SCO, it has important meaning on protection and maintenance of the regional security and stability, promoting regional economical development and cultural communication, actively improving international relation democratization, promoting multiplicity civilization dialogue communication etc.. Urumqi would take this as chance, full relying on the Forum platform, quickening economic and social integrated development, trying hard to construction Urumqi to be the modern commerce and trade city facing to the west and middle Asia region.

I．Urumqi is one of the central cities with most development potential in west China and central Asia.
Urumqi is the capital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region of P.R.China, it is the centre of political, economy and culture in Xinjiang, it is the China important west gate for opening to the outside world and the bridge head of China west section of new Euro-Asia transcontinental railway, locates at the geographic center of Asia; the municipal administrative total area is 12000km2, the city built-up urban area is 175km2, the total population is 2.35million, of it the city population occupied above 95％, it governs 7 districts and 1 county, 2 national grade development zone and 1 national grade export processing zone. In 2006, the whole city GDP reached CNY 6.54 million, the financial avenue of whole city is CNY 1.471 million, the social consumptions total volume of retail sales is CNY 2.7267 million, the total volume of import and export trade is USD 450 million, Urumqi occupied above quarter proportion of whole Xinjiang total output value and all items economical indexes, per capita GDP is about USD 3200, it has been one of the central cities with most comprehensive strength and with most development potential. Our aim is to build the Urumqi to be a modern international commerce and trade city facing west and central Asia, for this, we shall continuously work hard, uninterrupted perfect the financial, intermediate, information etc. services, to build the international “physical distribution port” facing to the west and central Asia, to construct a batch of commerce and trade markets radiating the west and central Asia regions. From now on forward, Urumqi would tightly grasp the historic opportunity of State west grand open, work hard to build it to be the regional commodities transaction distributing center, financial center, traffic transportation storage center and the modern information consultation service center of China west and central-west Asia. At present, Urumqi is as the important hinge of financial, physical distribution, traffic and information, the gate for opening to the outside world facing the markets in central Asia, west Asia, south Asia, takes its particular location economical superiority and the development train of thought of compatible and deals with concrete matters relating to work, plays more and more functions in the regional economical cooperation development.

II．By right of the location strategy superiority of connecting east and west, activity construct the important traffic hinge and physical distribution platform facing central Asia, west Asia and south Asia

Urumqi is the city along with the second Eurasia land way, and the world developed commerce and trade cities are with four big geographic elements including along the coast, along the edge, along the river, along the line, and Urumqi is with the advantage of along the edge, and also with the benefits of along the line, the location superiority is quite obviously, it founds an important platform for China’s commodities directly export to the markets in central Asia, west Asia, south Asia and Europe. Urumqi air port is one of the domestic five big gate airports, also is one of the nationwide four international airports, now more than 100 lines of international, domestic and local were put into operation; Urumqi railway station is with complete and perfect infrastructure, it is the general hinge of Xinjiang railway and the important countrywide marshalling railway station, the railway main line and sub-line are smoothness without any obstacle, thus makes Urumqi to be the traffic fortress connecting China inland and west to central Asia, Russia and Europe. Urban road and urban highway are extending in all directions, communicates with Turpan-Urumqi-Dahuangshan freeway and Urumqi-Kuitun freeway, forms the traffic network connecting external and internal, crosses over the north and south of Tianshan Mountains, meanwhile with the world class modern communication means. All these constructed a modern stereo “Silk Road”, set up the gold bridge for Urumqi to the world. At the same time, Urumqi is the leading city of the cities group of the north slope economical band of Tianshan mountains in Xinjiang, this region creates above 50% total output value and financial revenue of whole Xinjiang, it is the economical development core area of Xinjiang; therefore, bases upon Urumqi, not only can face Xinjiang market, but also can enter the markets in central Asia, west Asia and south Asia, can transport the west mineral products and resources to the east, and can introduce the equipment and technology from east to west, can transport the east commodities to the west, and transport west materials to the east as well; all these can create good condition for Urumqi to develop the modern physical distribution industry.

III．By right of great market potential superiority, activity construct the economy trade platform for inland introducing and external association, in from east and out to west

Urumqi neighbors central Asia, radiates the west Asia and south Asia countries, from of old it is the important hinge to link up the west-east commerce trade; so far, Urumqi has been one of the cities with large scale, many population, strong market potential, good comprehensive environment in west China and central Asia and about 7 million km2 scope, with strong radiation effect to central—west Asia area. As our country development strategy stress point moves to west and enlarges west open, Urumqi neighbors periphery 8 countries, constructed 2 state grade development zones and 1 export processing zone, 5 ports of the second category, near 200 all kinds of commodities transaction markets, among it there are 32 markets (each market’s annual transaction volume is over 100 million RMB yuan), and there are 10 markets (each market’s annual transaction volume is over 1 billion RMB yuan ), formed the multi-level and multi-channel trade network covering Xinjiang and radiating the central Asia, west Asia and south Asia areas, ascends to be the ultra-leading cities opening to the outside world in west China. In 2006, Urumqi implemented total export import volume occupied above 50% of whole Xinjiang, reception of more than 7.8 million tourists home and abroad, implementation of tourism and shopping gross income reached CNY 7.62 billion, all these, provided good basis and broad market space for the development of commerce and trade industry of Urumqi.
IV. By right of relatively developed industry basis superiority, actively construct the landing platform of the east industry transfer and the service platform for promotion of the regional economy butt jointed of central-west-south Asia

In 2006, Urumqi the three industries proportion is 1.5：37：61.5, preliminarily possesses the industrial structure base to construct developed commerce and trade communication city. Urumqi is with rather complete infrastructure of communication service industry, created good investment cooperation environment for the merchants over the world; the city proper is with universities and colleges, hospitals, scientific research institutions rather concentrated, and with completed intelligentsia; and with sound commerce and trade circulation system and developed import and export trade; and with near 100 star-grade hotels, there are more than 60 over 3-star hotels, there are 10 5-star hotels. Simultaneously, as the strong support and driving force of the service industry, Urumqi is with better industrial basis, occupied 37% of GDP of the whole city, formed 10 big industry group including petrochemical, metallurgy, weaving, mechanism, high and new technology, building materials, pharmacy, foodstuff, furniture, garments etc., the industries with complete category, the industrial structure is tending toward reasonable, especially the industrial development of petrochemical, metallurgy are at the leading position with the fellow traders domestically. Furthermore, through confirm the development aim of the modern agriculture, sight-seeing agriculture and high efficiency agriculture, Urumqi traditional agriculture is instead by the characteristic agriculture, which added new connotation and attraction to the local service industry development; so we can say, above mentioned good industry development basis for taking up the east industry transfer and creating conditions for promoting more broad mutual benefit cooperation in central-west-south Asia.
V. By right of policy advantage of precedence development, activity set up good cooperation communication platform for the regional economic cooperation development of central-west-south Asia
Since the 90’s of last century, the State highly paid attention to the west region development, carried out the west grand open strategy, pointed to the development and construction of Xinjiang, came on a series of preferential policies, these policies powerfully pushed Urumqi quickening development; meanwhile, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region also confirmed the strategy of the north slope economic band in priority development taking Urumqi as leading head, on this basis, the Autonomous Region in 2004 carried out the economic integration strategy for Urumqi city and the Sanji Hui nationality autonomous prefecture. Urumqi and Sanji area, not only the important agriculture and animal husbandry producing area, the cotton and grain producing area, petroleum and coal producing area, but also the important industrial production and processing base, also the trade distributing center, possesses important position of holding the balance in economic social development of Xinjiang, the two places economic integration is with deep and far influence to the Urumqi-Sanji regional resource sharing, the superiority complementation, strong-strong union, continuously enhancing the local integrated strength. We take this as base, uninterruptedly search regional melt economic development road, quicken set up the cooperation on the aspect of international market development among the cities in central-west-south Asia, seek to set up the cooperation guarantee system among the different cities, enhance the engagement and coordination level, to do the superiority complementation, associated sales promotion, passenger source sharing, multi-win developing, work hard to set up good cooperation and communication platform for the regional economic collaborative development in central-west-south Asia, fully play the bridge and link function in the region of central-west-south Asia.

Honored leaders, honored guests, dear friends: to strengthen the communication and coordination, to promote the regional economic cooperation development, is the objective requirement of present world economic integration and regionalization development, it would be helpful to osculate the association between countries and regions, to develop the international economic cooperation in all sides, would finally make great contribution to the development and prosperous of the world economy. All together, developing regional economic cooperation world be effectively to drive the open and development of our country especially for the central-west region, and with important meaning to realize the regional economic coordination development and the whole economy lifting off in central-west-south Asia; we believe, by and through our associated efforts, our industrious hardworking, henceforward our cooperation fields would be more wide, the cooperation extent would be more close, the cooperation prospect would be more nice, the cooperation results would be more plentiful and substantial. We warmly welcome all friends to Urumqi to see round, to visit, especially we wish the well-known international enterprises, multi-national corporations, businessmen home and abroad come to Urumqi for investment, seeking cooperation, collaborative development; the opening Urumqi welcomes you, the ardor and hospitable Urumqi people welcome you!
Thank you!