On the morning of June 2, the 2026 Belt and Road Conference on Overseas Chinese Cooperation & Development grandly opened in Chengdu under the theme of Pooling Overseas Chinese Strength to Write a New Chapter for the Silk Road.

Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Director of the Standing Committee of Sichuan Provincial People’s Congress, attended the opening ceremony. Wang Linggui, Secretary of the Party Leadership Group and Chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC), delivered an address; Shi Xiaolin, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Governor of Sichuan Province, gave a welcome speech; Tian Xiangli, Chairman of Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, was present at the event. Invited to the grand gathering, Lin Long’an, President of Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association, held in-depth exchanges and cooperation matchmaking with representatives from overseas Chinese communities and industrial and business circles worldwide.

In his address, ACFROC Chairman Wang Linggui noted that the Federation co-hosted the conference alongside Sichuan and Chongqing to fully implement President Xi Jinping’s important expositions on high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The event is designed to rally the hearts, pool the wisdom and leverage the resources of overseas Chinese, guiding them to better integrate into China’s overall opening-up and development strategy. He encouraged global overseas Chinese to act as critical bridges aligned with the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026–2030), pioneer high-standard opening-up, serve as non-governmental envoys for cultural integration, and jointly elevate the high-quality development of the BRI to new heights.

On behalf of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Sichuan Provincial Government, Governor Shi Xiaolin extended gratitude to all sectors that have long supported Sichuan’s growth. She stated that Sichuan is pressing ahead to build two strategic highlands, two key industrial bases and one major ecological barrier as entrusted by the central government. The province will keep fostering a market-oriented, law-based and world-class international business environment, fully harnessing overseas Chinese capital, expertise and resources to advance industrial upgrading, resource commercialization, opening-up cooperation and people’s wellbeing improvement together with compatriots at home and abroad. Such efforts will help more Sichuan-branded products go global and attract more overseas Chinese enterprises and investment into Sichuan, boosting high-level opening-up of West China and sharing development dividends of the Chinese path to modernization.

The opening ceremony was presided over by Pubu Dunzhu, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee and Director of the Provincial United Front Work Department. Shang Kui, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and Director of the Municipal United Front Work Department, and other officials also delivered speeches successively. During the conference, the Top 10 BRI Practitioner Cases Empowered by Overseas Chinese were unveiled alongside displays of landmark cooperation projects, fully showcasing fruitful outcomes delivered by overseas Chinese communities for BRI construction.

President Lin Long’an remarked that the Association will capitalize on the conference as a pivotal opportunity. It will give full play to the Greater Bay Area’s strengths in foreign trade and its bridging role linking global overseas Chinese, forge in-depth industrial, resource and market synergy with Sichuan and Chongqing, and deliver tangible results in cross-border trade, coordinated industrial development and brand globalization to fuel high-quality BRI progress and serve China’s high-level opening-up strategy.

Going forward, Greater Bay Area Importers and Exporters Association will keep building efficient exchange platforms linking domestic and international business communities, enabling complementary advantages, resource connectivity and industrial collaboration between the Greater Bay Area and Western China. Rooted in overseas Chinese ties and trade-driven development, the Association will contribute further to high-quality BRI development and deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation between China and the rest of the world.