CCTV:

Last year, the State Council published a guideline to boost the high-quality development of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, invigorating Chinese modernization. How has the implementation progressed so far? How can we ensure that the public enjoy tangible benefits? Thank you.

Wang Lixia:

I'd like to invite Mr. Huang Zhiqiang to answer this question.

Huang Zhiqiang:

Thank you for your question. Last year, the State Council issued the guideline, and various ministries and commissions introduced related supportive policies, all of which are tailored to benefit Inner Mongolia by boosting sound, substantial development. The measures cover five areas: infrastructure, energy and resources, the ecological environment, industrial development, and people's livelihoods. Implementing these policies will profoundly impact Inner Mongolia's high-quality development and contribute to China's modernization.

We have seized this significant development opportunity by breaking down the guideline into 86 major projects, transforming the blueprint into a concrete action plan. To date, 59 major projects have commenced construction, with a total investment of 135 billion yuan, and all tasks are progressing smoothly.

The implementation of these policies brings tangible benefits to the public. For example, in transportation, we have accelerated the construction of the Baotou-Yinchuan high-speed railway. Once operational, travel time from Bayannur to Beijing will be reduced from 13 hours to four hours. We are also optimizing airport layouts, accelerating the construction of general airports, and developing regional routes, making border areas more accessible.

In terms of increasing employment, we have planned the construction of six large-scale wind power and photovoltaic bases in sandy, rocky, and barren areas. According to our preliminary estimates, each base will have a static investment of over 80 billion yuan and will provide more than 10,000 jobs for the local area.

Regarding rural revitalization, we have significantly supported designated counties and banners by establishing numerous national-level modern industrial parks. For example, the dairy and soybean industrial park in Morin Dawa Daur autonomous banner can boost the income of 50,000 farming households in the area.

In order to boost local economies and ensure stability in border areas, we have implemented projects to improve and upgrade infrastructure in villages and small towns at key junctures. This includes advancing the integrated construction of facilities for drinking water, electricity, roads, and telecommunications. Our goal is to ensure that all villages, guard posts, police stations, and small police stations in border areas have access to drinking water, electricity, telecommunications, as well as radio and television services.

We have stepped up our efforts to establish four regional health centers in a bid to improve medical services. We have worked with the Beijing Cancer Hospital to establish a branch hospital in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In the past, many people had to travel to Beijing for medical treatment. Nowadays, residents can access top-notch medical expertise from experts in Beijing without leaving their local area.

Thank you.

Xing Huina:

Thanks. Please continue with your questions.

CRNTT:

Inner Mongolia is an important hub of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, and also a crucial gateway for the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor in the western region. What considerations are there for promoting higher-level opening-up and serving the overall national policy of opening-up? Thank you. 

Wang Lixia:

I'd like to invite Mr. Yang to answer this question.

Yang Jin:

Thank you for your question. Situated on the northern frontier of China, Inner Mongolia serves as a vital gateway for opening up to countries and regions north of China. It boasts unique advantages to open up internally and externally. In recent years, with the further advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, Inner Mongolia has expanded its economic cooperation with more partners in Russia and Mongolia, achieving a higher level of openness to northern countries and regions.

Inner Mongolia's Manzhouli and Erenhot serve as the exit ports for the eastern and central corridors of the China-Europe Railway Express, respectively. These two corridors make up two-thirds of the three railway corridors of the China-Europe Railway Express across the nation. In 2023, almost 50% of the China-Europe freight trains nationwide departed from or passed through Inner Mongolia. Manzhouli Port is China's largest land port, while Erenhot Port is China's largest land port to Mongolia. Given this, we have adopted a series of measures to improve and upgrade infrastructure and leverage information-based and smart technologies to ensure the smooth operation of the China-Europe Railway Express services. Moreover, we have intensified efforts to build Manzhouli and Erenhot into smart ports and adopt a new model of cross-border transportation using automated guided vehicles in Ganqmod and Ceke ports, significantly accelerating port clearance efficiency.

The China-Mongolia Erenhot- Zamyn-Uud economic cooperation zone was officially approved a couple of months ago. This marks the third cross-border economic cooperation zone established between China and its neighboring countries. We will intensify efforts to boost the development of various industries in the zone, including cross-border tourism, the modern service industry, international trade logistics, and the deep processing of imported and exported goods. By doing so, we aim to build the China-Mongolia economic cooperation zone into a high-level platform for opening up border areas.

Furthermore, we have enhanced cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road in various fields, including agriculture and animal husbandry, energy and minerals, the digital economy, biomedicine, and infrastructure. We have also promoted border trade among residents living in border areas. Stepped-up efforts have been made to accelerate the integrated development of domestic and foreign trade, enhancing our cooperation with the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and China's northeastern provinces, and improving the coordination mechanism between Inner Mongolia and Beijing. We have also ramped up efforts to promote the construction of the demonstration zone for industrial relocation. In collaboration with partners from Shanghai, Tianjin, and other regions, we have established 25 inland ports across Inner Mongolia. These efforts have created more opportunities for businesses in Inner Mongolia to engage in international trade locally. Additionally, these inland ports have provided support for other regions to open up to northern countries and enhance cooperation with them.

We have established a series of platforms for cooperation and exchanges, such as the China-Mongolia Expo, the Economic and Trade Fair for China's Northward Opening-up, and events to help enterprises from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region seek business opportunities and cooperation abroad. Through these efforts, we have expanded our international circle of friends and trading partners, enabling us to integrate into and contribute to the dual circulation of domestic and international markets in an all-round manner to raise opening-up to a higher level with wider coverage and scope.

Thank you.