Members of the delegation pose for photos in front of an unmanned tractor developed by YTO, a leading agriculture machinery manufacturer on the Chinese mainland, in Luoyang, Henan province on June 27, 2023. (WILLIAM XU / CHINA DAILY)

A high-level delegation of about 70 Hong Kong-based diplomats and business leaders, who are visiting central and western China, on Tuesday were introduced to Henan province's prowess in manufacturing agricultural machinery.

The visitors also learned how a Eurasia freight railway link boosts trade with economies along the Belt and Road Initiatives.

The delegation, 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, is on a week-long tour to Henan and Shaanxi provinces, which will conclude on Friday

The delegation, 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, is on a week-long tour to Henan and Shaanxi provinces, which will conclude on Friday.

Members of the delegation visited a plant of the YTO Group Corporation in Luoyang, Henan province, on Tuesday morning, and examined the company’s latest agricultural equipment and vehicles, such as unmanned tractors, plowing machines and harvesters.

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A leading supplier of agricultural machinery on the Chinese mainland, YTO has also exported to many other countries and regions in Eurasia and South America, said Wang Jianjun, deputy general manager of the YTO International Limited.

“YTO exports about 6,000 to 7,000 agricultural machines per year,” Wang added.

Delegates later visited a railway cargo marshalling yard in Luoyang, which is operated by YTO. The station, called YTO (Luoyang) International Dry Port, was launched in 2017 with nine train lines and a large container storage yard.

The station is connected to the national railway network via the Longhai Railway – which links a port in Jiangsu province with central hinterland Gansu province, and can handle railway freight containers dispatched from anywhere in the country.

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In recent years, the railway port has dispatched cross-boundary freight trains from Luoyang to destinations in Central Asia and Russia. This has not only boosted the import and export of local cargos, but also those from other mainland provinces including neighboring Shandong province.

The port, which is still under construction, aims to become a national logistics backbone and accelerate the transformation of industries in inland provinces like Henan, according to its operator YTO.

Members of the delegation listen to the introduction of LONGi Green Energy Technology, a company focusing on developing solar photovoltaic technologies and products, in Xi'an, Shaanxi province on June 27, 2023. (WILLIAM XU / CHINA DAILY)

Commenting on the trip, Ali Saad Al-Hajri, consul general of the State of Qatar in HKSAR said that the visit had introduced him to various new technologies developed by Chinese companies.

In 2020, Qatar bought 1,500 buses and coaches, including 888 powered by electricity, from Yutong, a bus manufacturer which the delegation visited on Sunday in Zhengzhou, the capital of Henan province.

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The vehicles were used for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and received positive feedback from passengers.

Al-Hajri said the deal had deepened Qatar people’s trust in Chinese products, and he is looking forward to cooperating further with China.

The delegation left Henan on Tuesday afternoon and boarded a high-speed train for Xi’an, the capital of western China’s Shaanxi province.

After arriving in Xi’an – which is renowned for its Terracotta Warriors – the diplomats and business leaders toured LONGi Green Energy Technology, an enterprise focusing on developing solar photovoltaic technologies and products.