Editor's Note: Keywords to Understand China: the Belt and Road Initiative is a selection of "China Keywords" entries included in an eponymous multilingual platform to help readers better understand China's B&R Initiative. It is one of the major projects implemented by the China International Publishing Group and the China Academy of Translation.
China-Belarus Industrial Park
During the then Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to Belarus in March 2010, the Belarusian government expressed interest in opening an industrial park in Belarus modeled on the China-Singapore Industrial Park in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.
An agreement was signed by both governments on September 18, 2011, and a joint venture, China-Belarus Industrial Park Development Company, was established on August 27, 2012. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in Minsk on June 19, 2014.
During talks with Belarusian President Lukashenko on May 10, 2015, Xi Jinping, who had become President by then, proposed enhancing the strategic alignment between China and Belarus in a joint effort to build the Silk Road Economic Belt, with the construction of the industrial park as a focus area.
He went on to emphasize the importance of coordination between both governments in planning the park so as to showcase the advantages of cooperation.
Occupying an area of 91.5 square kilometers, this industrial park will be the largest one China has built overseas, with the highest industrial level of its kind. It also enjoys favorable policy incentives.
Strategically situated, it connects the Eurasian Economic Union countries and the European Union members, offering easy access to international and transcontinental highways and railways.
Focused on advanced manufacturing and services, and attracting international talent and resources, the park is intended to be a new international city, an environmentally friendly, vibrant community that embraces entrepreneurship and innovation, and an ideal place to live.
Gwadar Port Free Zone
During Premier Li Keqiang's visit to Pakistan in May 2013, China and Pakistan agreed to build a China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to promote energy and transportation infrastructure development, among other projects.
During President Xi Jinping’s visit in April 2015, closer bilateral cooperation was again highlighted. A key element of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and an essential component of the Gwadar Port development project, the free zone aims to improve trade logistics, facilitate processing trade, and promote warehousing and financial services.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the free zone was held on September 1, 2016. Attended by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, it ushered in a new phase of the port development that includes the construction of an industrial park.
The free zone will be modeled after the Shekou Industrial Zone in Shenzhen, China, comprising a port, an industrial park, and residential and business areas. The Pakistani government will grant tax exemptions to the zone, together with a land lease on preferential terms.
Once completed, the free zone will significantly boost the development of Gwadar Port, and spur economic growth in Balochistan and the rest of Pakistan.
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