Several experts highlighted the potential of growing China's western regions through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) at the 3rd CF40 Qujiang Forum held in Xian, Shaanxi Province, on Saturday.

The BRI has profoundly changed global economic and trade patterns and will definitely promote the high-quality development of inland cities, said Huang Qifan, the former mayor of Chongqing.

For nearly 300 years, ocean transportation has been the dominant way to carry out global trade and has been an important driving force of economic globalization. However, this pattern has been changing since the BRI was put forward in 2013, he said.

Huang highlighted the operation of the China-Europe Railway Express, which had shortened journeys to one-third of that of sea transport, and costs have become one-fifth of that of air transport. 

These days, products from countries along the route can directly reach end markets, which started a new chapter of the marine and land economies jointly developing "hand-in-hand," Huang added.

Tu Guangshao, executive director of the China Finance 40 Forum (CF40), said that the BRI has boosted the exploration of cross-border finance, supply chains and investment and financing with a focus on the real economy, which serves to further open up China's western regions.

Opening-up internally and externally is the key for the western regions in China to integrate into the country's new development pattern and jointly build the BRI, said Yin Yanlin, deputy director of the Economic Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Yin said the convening of the China-Central Asia Summit should be taken as an opportunity to speed up the construction and integration of the western regions into the Maritime Silk Road.

More eastern coastal industries should transfer to the west, which will better connect to Eurasia, he said.

Shang Fulin, former chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, also said that China's western region should further open up and develop the region's export-oriented economy to both stimulate domestic and international demand.

Meanwhile, the 2023 "Qujiang Report" was also officially released at the forum, which focuses on the risks and countermeasures of China's cross-border capital flows.