'One Belt, One Road' projects get approval

The "One Belt and One Road" initiative is officially approved and will be introduced soon, Shanghai Securities News reported on Tuesday.

The "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road," or "One Belt and One Road" for short, were development strategies put forward by President Xi Jinping in 2013. The "One Belt" will link China with Europe through Central and Western Asia. The "One Road" represents a maritime route through the Straight of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa.

The Maritime Silk Road dates back to 2,000 years ago, when ancient merchants sailed from China's eastern coast, passing Southeast Asia, the Southernmost tip of India and East Africa, all the way to the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, strengthening economic ties and cultural communication.

Chinese officials have highlighted the geographic and strategic importance of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the starting point of the Silk Road economic belt.

The Central government will formulate a series of preferential policies for the autonomous region as it marks the 60th anniversary of its founding, sources said.

Other projects, such as the Asia-Europe economic cooperation zone, proposed by Urumqi, the municipal capital of Xinjiang, are also underway.

Meanwhile, Xinjiang has established the Kashgar integrated free trade zone, which has become the second such area in the province.

Xinjiang, as the energy base inching into Central Asia's oil market, has promoted the Kazakhstan-China gasoline development cooperation project, which is currently in progress.

The government is also dedicated to the construction and management of the second and third stages of the China-Kazakhstan logistics project, according to the Municipal Committee of Lianyungang City, East China's Jiangsu province.