Sichuan to lead new opening-up

Sichuan province is expected to become the leader of China's future overall opening-up, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said during an event on Wednesday to introduce the region to foreign diplomats.

"Sichuan province was the pioneer of China's opening-up, and it has now become a new driving force of China's new round of opening-up," Wang said while hosting the event, whose name translates as "An Open China: See Sichuan, See the World".

The event, the fourth in a series to present Chinese provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions to the world, drew diplomats and representatives from 140 countries.

Sichuan, in southwestern China, is considered the strategic bridge of the Belt and Road Initiative and the heartland of the Yangtze River economic belt.

By establishing economic and trade relations with 216 countries and regions, the province has been transformed in recent years from an inland hinterland to the frontier of opening-up.

In August, the State Council decided to set up a new free trade pilot zone in the province.

Sichuan was the home of Deng Xiaoping, the leader who initiated China's reform and opening-up in 1978.

Wang Dongming, Party chief of Sichuan, said the province is further opening up to the world by improving fair competition and creating a good business environment.

"Sichuan province is now the first choice if people decide to invest in the west," said Sichuan Governor Yin Li.

To describe the remoteness of a place, there is a Chinese proverb that says, "The mountain is high and the emperor is far away."

"But the mountain is no longer high," said Nancy Gordon, consul general of the Australian Consulate General in Chengdu, who added that her country expects to enhance cooperation with Sichuan.