Under China's chairmanship, the 9th BRICS Summit will be held in China's Fujian Province this September. With this year's theme being "Stronger Partnership for a Brighter Future,” Pei Jinjia, standing member of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPC and Party chief of the Xiamen Municipal Committee briefed the media on Monday.
The city of Xiamen is ready to provide a safe and comfortable environment for the upcoming summit, Pei said.
Pei Jinjia, standing member of the Fujian Provincial Committee of the CPC and Party chief of the Xiamen Municipal Committee briefed the media on May 22, 2017. Lu Kang, Director-General of the Department of Information of China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted the press conference. /Xmnn.cn Photo
Xiamen's infrastructure has been pretty complete. The city is known for its tourism and exhibitions, so its conditions for hotels and venues are relatively well, according to Pei.
He said safety measures have been strengthened, with a better city management level to be maintained due to the summit's opening.
Comfortable accommodations for media friends
Meanwhile, accommodations for "media friends" have also been carefully arranged. A total of 15,000 square meters of the media center including space for studios, satellite signals and working space, have been constructed. A 24-hour catering service with Fujian cuisine has also been arranged, along with hotel and transportation accommodations.
The city's coastline stretches 234 kilometers. /BRICS official photo
Xiamen to debut on global stage
The large scale event will bring benefits to the city's economy and tourism. Xiamen's economic growth amounted 8.1 percent in Q1 of 2017, a 0.2 percent increase over 2016. Tourism is expected to surge by 70 million this year, compared to 67.6 million last year, a boost to the city's popularity and influence, according to Pei.
Xiamen has a subtropical climate. The annual average temperature is about 21℃. /BRICS official photo
Environmental friendly and less disturbing in constructions
While being asked about whether the preparation has such a large scale development that disturbed citizens' lives, Pei said the concept of holding the meeting is being frugal, pragmatic, and less disturbing to citizens. He said the city won't build new venues for the meeting.
The city will utilize current venues and hotels, with some sites being improved and renovated.
Xiamen is abundant in living sea resources. It boasts nearly 2,000 species of marine creatures. /BRICS official photo
Recycled materials have been used for some venues' renovation. The recovery work and renovation for the meeting will be combined. And only few roads necessary will be blocked during the meeting, in order to reduce distress to citizens.
The BRICS Summit first convened in 2006 where foreign ministers' meeting was firstly held, with heads of the governments of Brazil, Russia, India and China kick started the first BRICS Summit. Now BRICS countries have turned into an important platform for cooperation among emerging markets and developing countries.
According to IMF's statistics, these countries have contributed more than 50 percent to the world economic growth over the last 10 years.
Related stories:
China to hold first cooperation meeting of BRICS 2017
BRICS Summit First Sherpa Meeting closes in Nanjing
Solid cooperation in politics, economics and culture for BRICS