Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, delivers a speech on June 24, 2023 at the launching ceremony of a visit to key mainland cities under the Belt and Road Initiative for foreign consular corps and the business community in Hong Kong. (WILLIAM XU / CHINA DAILY)

A high-level delegation of about 70 representatives of the foreign consular corps and the business community left Hong Kong on Saturday on a week-long tour of the Chinese mainland provinces of Henan and Shaanxi to tap the business opportunities offered by the rapid development in central and western China under the Belt and Road Initiative, and take in the charm of Chinese culture.

The team, led by Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, will be briefed on industrial policies and local development by senior government officials in the two provinces and cities during the trip, which ends on June 30.

The tour will enable the delegation to better understand the vitality of inland cities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, Liu said at a ceremony to kick of the visit on Saturday morning.

As a “super-connector” between the mainland and the world, Hong Kong has both the ability and willingness to participate in and contribute to the Belt and Road cooperation.

Liu Guangyuan, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR

He said Henan and Shaanxi provinces are both important cradles of the Chinese nation and civilization, and have left brilliant marks on the ancient Silk Road - a trade route linking China and the Mediterranean and Europe in the trading of goods. Today, the two hinterland provinces have become forefronts of opening-up under the BRI, with greater development prospects.

Liu cited Zhengzhou - Henan’s provincial capital and also the delegation’s first stop - saying the city’s airport has set up an aviation network that links up with all of the world’s major economies through the BRI.

During the seven-day trip, members of the delegation will tour workshops of three tech-intensive green products - electric vehicles, solar batteries and lithium batteries – to enable them to better understand international cooperation in the production of heavy-duty machinery, and see for themselves the strong driving force and broad opportunities in the two provinces, Liu said.

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The delegation will also visit historical and cultural attractions in Henan and Shaanxi, both of which are renowned for their long history.

Liu said both provinces are “must visit” places for international friends who want to understand China.

The HKSAR, as a super connector between the mainland and the world, is able and willing to participate in, and contribute to BRI cooperation, which will not only help the SAR upgrade its own development, but also bring greater opportunities for foreign business people in the city.

Following the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the mainland in March this year, a similar high-level visit to the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, also organized by the Commissioner’s Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR, attracted about 100 participants, including consul generals, representatives of more than 30 foreign diplomatic missions in Hong Kong and leaders of some 20 business chambers and 17 multi-national business and financial organizations.

The latest delegation – the second such trip since the resumption of cross-boundary travel - left Hong Kong by taking a bullet train from Hong Kong West Kowloon Railway Station to Zhengzhou.

Liu Guangyuan, commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the HKSAR, delivers a speech on June 24, 2023 at the launching ceremony of a visit to key mainland cities under the Belt and Road Initiative for foreign consular corps and the business community in Hong Kong. (WILLIAM XU / CHINA DAILY)

The team will visit a string of leading mainland enterprises in the manufacturing and transportation sectors, many of which have built up close economic ties with BRI countries and regions.

Besides Zhengzhou, the delegation will go to Luoyang City to see local attractions. It will then proceed to Shaanxi, visiting enterprises and industrial parks, as well as the provincial capital, Xi’an, and Yan’an - a city of great significance in the revolutionary history of the Communist Party of China.

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The visitors will also take in historical and cultural attractions in the two provinces, such as Shaolin Temple in Zhengzhou, the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor in Xi’an.