Belt and Road Initiative boosts Shaanxi's trade links with South Korea

Shaanxi province, at the start of the ancient Silk Road in northwestern China, has been attracting billions of dollars worth of new investment, much of which is from South Korea, which top officials say is largely down to the country's pivotal role in the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to Zhang Xiaoning, deputy secretary-general of Shaanxi provincial government, during the recent 5-day Silk Road International Exposition held in provincial capital Xi'an, the authorities signed contracts worth $11.7 billion with foreign partners, and 681 billion yuan ($104 billion) with domestic investors.

Despite a slowing domestic economy and weak global demand, Zhang said the scale and scope of those deals is significant.