BEIJING, July 9, 2014, Asia-Plus -- Five Tajik journalists participating in a media cooperation forum formally entitled “Silk Road Economic Belt” yesterday along with their colleagues from other Central Asia’s nations and Russia visited Xuzhou, which is a major city in and the fourth largest prefecture-level city of China’s Jiangsu province.     

Xuzhou is known for its role as a transportation hub in northwestern Jiangsu, as it has expressways and railway links connecting directly to the provinces of Henan and Shandong, the neighboring port city of Lianyungang, as well as the economic hub Shanghai.  The most important industries in Xuzhou are machinery, energy and food production.

While in Xuzhou, the journalists visited Xuzhou Construction Machinery Co. Ltd (XCMG Group), which is a Chinese multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company.

The construction machinery manufacturer XCMG is the largest company based in Xuzhou. It is the world''s tenth-largest construction equipment maker measured by 2011 revenues, and the third-largest based in China (after Sany and Zoomlion).

Mr. Hanson Liu, assistant president general manager of XCMG, says a major part of construction machines we see in Tajikistan were purchased from XCMG.

“We have dealer office in Tajikistan and all those construction machines have been purchased through our dealer office,” Mr. Hanson noted.

Xuzhou Construction Machinery Co. Ltd (XCMG Group) is a Chinese multinational heavy machinery manufacturing company headquartered in Xuzhou, Jiangsu. At present, it ranks 5th in world construction machinery industry, 122nd among Top 500 Chinese enterprises, 49th among Top 100 enterprises in Chinese manufacturing industry, and 2nd among Top 100 enterprises in Chinese machine-building industry, being a large enterprise group with the largest scale, the most complete product type and series, and the highest competitiveness and influence in Chinese construction machinery industry.  XCMG is a state-owned company and was founded in 1989. Its subsidiary XCMG Construction Machinery Co. Ltd. is listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

We will recall that nearly 100 representatives from 11 countries gathered in Beijing on July to discuss media cooperation among countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt.  Officials, diplomats and media representatives from China, Russia, India, Iran and some Central Asian countries, including Tajikistan, are attending the Silk Road Economic Belt Media Cooperation Forum.

The main objective of the forum is strengthening media cooperation among countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt.  The forum participants, in particular, noted that discussing the media''s role in the Silk Road Economic Belt was important to promote mutual understanding and beneficial cooperation among the countries.

China''s initiatives to build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st-century maritime Silk Road, known as the "One Belt and One Road," were put forth by Chinese President Xi Jinping during two separate visits to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013.  President Xi Jinping''s proposed "Silk Road Economic Belt" revival project could involve over 40 Asian and European countries and regions with a combined population of 3 billion.