Historic Chinese city captures global attention as summit host

"The timing and the cost of logistics used to be two major problems in cross-border e-commerce services. But with the help of Chang'an trains, the delivery time has been shortened to two weeks from almost a month and the cost was cut by half," Yuan said.

In November 2013, the first Chang'an China-Europe freight train departed from Xi'an to Almaty in Kazakhstan. Since then, the number of Chang'an train trips has steadily increased, reaching an impressive total of 4,639 in 2022. At present, 17 routes of Chang'an trains connect Xi'an with Central Asia and Europe, including 45 countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Shaanxi is home to more than 100 higher education institutions, over 1,300 research institutes and millions of technical personnel concentrated in the city of Xi'an. Data shows that the number of high-tech enterprises in Xi'an has exceeded 7,000.

Five industrial clusters worth over 100 billion each have been established in the city in the fields of telecommunications, automobile, aerospace, high-end equipment as well as new materials and energy.

The city is also a shining example of new industries. In 2022, the output of new-energy vehicles in Xi'an passed the one million mark, topping the country with a share of 14.1 percent. It also leads the global market share of flash chips and monocrystalline modules.

In 2022, the per capita disposable income of residents in Xi'an exceeded 40,000 yuan (about 5,757 U.S. dollars).

(by Xinhua correspondents Qiang Lijing, Sun Bo, Chu Guoqiang, Zhang Sijie, Yang Yimiao, Zhang Bin, Jiang Chenrong)

(Video reporters: Wu Hongbo, Zhang Sijie; Video editors: Liang Wanshan, Luo Hui, Zhu Jianhui, Hui Peipei, Lin Lin, Wang Han)