From 7 to 8 May 2018, the reporting trip themed "ASEAN-China Jointly Building the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road" visited Shaoxing. Mr. KeJunjie, Deputy Director of Publicity Department of CPC Shaoxing Committee, met with the delegation. ASEAN and Chinese journalists visited China Light Textile Industrial City and Hailiang Education Group.
Deputy Director Ke briefed on Shaoxing's historic and cultural connotations as well as socio-economic development. He mentioned that Shaoxing possesses time-honoured history and rich cultures. It is a cradle of many generations of talents, and among the first batch of national level city with cultural prestige. In recent years, Shaoxing has taken industrial upgrading as its main goal, prioritizes the development of information economy, cultural tourism, modern equipment production and healthcare, and improved high-end textile and green chemical industries with a view of integrating itself in the Belt and Road Initiative, accelerating the city's modernization and building ecological city. In 2017, the GDP of Shaoxing reached RMB 510.8 billion, and the disposable income per urban resident reached RMB 54,445. He wished that the journalists could convey their impressions in Shaoxing back to ASEAN countries.
Mr. Vithit Powattanasuk, Director of Information and Public Relations Division of ASEAN-China Centre (ACC), appreciated Shaoxing's hospitality. He stated that the reporting trip for ASEAN media coming to China is one of ACC's flagship projects. This year's trip has been the fourth one of its kind, all of which organized ASEAN media to visit several cities in China. He hoped that the reporting trip could promote ASEAN-China practical cooperation and ASEAN-Zhejiang and ASEAN-Shaoxing practical cooperation in particular in trade, investment, education, culture, tourism, information and media.
China Light Textile Industrial City, located in Keqiao district of Shaoxing municipality, was established in 1980s with an area of 337.2 thousand square meters, and operational area of 668 thousand square meters, and 15,500 booths. It accounts for half of market share of textile nationwide. Almost a quarter of global shell fabric worth USD 10 billion are transported everywhere in the world from here. During the stay in Shaoxing, China Keqiao International Textile Expo were undergoing. The delegation visited the demonstration area and interacted with merchandizers on such topics as type, amount, trading partner and trade volume of exported textile.
In Hailiang Education Group, the delegation learned about its planning and current progress. According to the briefing of staff members, the group was established in 1995 covering kindergarten, elementary school, junior high school, senior high school, international education and education training. The total number of enrolled students exceed 60 thousand. In next 8 years, the goal of the group is going from Yangtze river delta area to whole China, as well as to the world so as to become the world renowned education brand. The delegation raised several questions on its education. The atmosphere was warm.