The delegation from Shaanxi province signs a cooperation memorandum with an official from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. [Photo/itl.gov.cn]

The Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia Economic and Trade Cooperation Meeting was held in Erenhot, Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on July 23 to discuss the construction of the Silk Road economic belt and the opening-up of countries north of China.

Attending were Zhang Xiaoning, vice-secretary of the Shaanxi provincial government; Yao Chaoying, minister of the Shaanxi Commerce Department; Yang Mingrui, manager of Xi’an International Trade and Logistics Park; and officials from the Inner Mongolia Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau, the Bureau of Commerce of Inner Mongolia, and the Erenhot government. Representatives from enterprises in Shaanxi and Inner Mongolia were also in attendance.

At the meeting, Yang signed a cooperation agreement with a manager from Erenhot Port to promote cooperation between the park, China’s biggest inland port, and the border port of Erenhot. The bureaus of inspection and quarantine of the two provinces signed a cooperation memorandum to release goods directly. The two provinces’ port offices also signed a port cooperation agreement.

The meeting was one of the cooperation activities conducted by the delegation from Shaanxi province when it visited Inner Mongolia from July 21-24, aiming to create a better clearance environment for foreign trade, boost the open economy of the two provinces, and promote economic and trade cooperation between regions along the Silk Road.

Enrehot, the biggest open port to Mongolia in China, is a frontier and window to the countries north of China.

By Yang Fan and edited by Michael Thai