Laying the path of interconnectivity

During overseas visits last year, President Xi Jinping rarely ate at public activities other than banquets, but he happily bit into a red Polish apple during a ceremony in Warsaw, the capital of Poland, in June.

The ceremony was held to mark the arrival of the first China-Europe Block Train, which transported Chinese-made products, including electronic components, from Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in Southwest China, to Warsaw. Later, the train made the return journey laden with Polish commodities, including agricultural produce such as apples.

The practice of boosting interconnectivity is an important part of China's Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known collectively as the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2013, Xi put forward proposals to create the project, with the aim of building a trade and infrastructure network along the ancient Silk Road trade routes to connect Asia with Europe and Africa. Regions along the route of the initiative are home to 63 percent of the world population and account for 29 percent of the global economy.