North China's Shanxi province is making huge strides toward becoming a new beacon of opening-up and international cooperation, with its foreign trade with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative reaching 71.7 billion yuan ($9.86 billion), accounting for 42.3 percent of its total foreign trade in 2023.

In April 2024, Shanxi delegations visited France, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Italy, and Hungary, engaging in in-depth exchanges and cooperation with enterprises and organizations in various sectors, including industry, commerce, culture, investment, sports, science and technology, and medicine.

Specifically, during an investment promotion event in Spain, Shanxi showcased its key industrial chains through presentations and project roadshows. Bilingual promotional boards, videos and pictures were also employed to highlight the province's industrial development status and prospects.

In Germany and France, the Shanxi delegation focused on promoting the province's key industries and characteristic professional towns, engaging in discussions and exchanges with the two countries' business circle in areas such as special steel materials, new energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, modern medicine, and synthetic biology.

Furthermore, Shanxi and Duisburg, Germany discussed industrial transformation and upgrading, providing valuable insights into the development of a "Green Shanxi" and "Intelligent Shanxi".

Moving forward, Shanxi is committed to further integrating into global industrial and value chains with a more open attitude and accelerating its transformation into a new beacon of opening-up in inland China.