Reps of 84 countries, regions gather in Hunan Province

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Europe

02:14

The Silk Road Business Summit welcomes mostly non-governmental organizations from Russia, Croatia and France, brainstorming how to improve trade under the Belt and Road framework.

"China is dedicated to economic globalization. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) benefits all countries, including those without exports, and that's why we have come here. We are against trade protectionism and against the US-instigated trade war on China," said Stjepan Mesic, former president of Croatia.

Croatia is going to host the summit for the leaders of "16+1" mechanism – which includes China and 16 central and eastern European counties – next year. The former president said Croatia has benefited much from cooperation over the last six years.

CGTN Photo

At this summit, experts are targeting specific issues, such as maintaining a safe trade environment, how to promote foreign brands in China and how to develop cooperation in the commercial and tourism sectors.

Shin Joong Mok, commissioner of the Korea World Travel Fair, said "Korea is paying attention to China's BRI, especially we see the cooperation between China and Europe, in our tourism industry I'm in charge of, that's also we can develop towards."

Wissam H. Fattouh, secretary-general of the Union of Arab Banks, said “We are here today to witness the signing of another letter of intent of establishing a China-Arab Development Bank. The purpose of the bank is to promote economic and social development in most regions in China and the Arab world." He also hoped the bank will help with the reconstruction of some Arab countries.

CGTN Photo‍

An urban alliance is also in place to funnel cooperation down to the city level. Summit organizers hope to help the BRI make inroads in different countries, while tailoring it to their own conditions.

Li Zhonghang, vice chairman of the Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce (SRCIC) said the SRCIC has quickly developed since it was founded in 2015. "We now have 129 national-level business chambers from 77 countries, linking nearly 10 million company members. We are the bridge between various countries' governments and industries", Li said.

Business chambers and organizations play key roles at this forum. They bring government representatives, ambassadors and entrepreneurs together to discuss multilateral trade opportunities and promote deals. Improving global trade remains one of the tenets of the BRI. With 84 countries and regions involved, this forum shows the reach of Belt and Road cooperation.