Shaanxi Province's capital city of Xi'an is set to be the main logistics center in western China under the "One Belt, One Road" initiative, a local official said Wednesday.
"The groundwork for developing the two logistics parks is moving forward at full speed. The two parks will form a comprehensive trade network and will make Xi'an an important national logistic platform," Qiang Xiao'an, director of Xi'an's development and reform commission, told the Global Times.
The two logistics facilities are the Xi'an International Trade and Logistics Park and the Airport New City, both in the Xixian New Area. The former will mainly develop land-based logistics, while the latter will oversee air trade.
Qiang believes the two projects will provide a major breakthrough for the inland city which has suffered from its relatively poor accessibility.
The duty-free zone in the two logistics parks will also prepare Xi'an to become China's next free-trade zone, said Qiang.
Xi'an was named as the starting point of the Silk Road Economic Belt proposed by the central government in March.
The city released a framework to develop the "One Belt, One Road," which includes 60 projects with a total investment of over 115 billion yuan ($18.53 billion).
Qiang said the 60 projects will include industries that focus on science and technology, logistics, and manufacturing.
The provincial government of Shaanxi is also trying to accelerate the development of the Xixian New Area so it can drive western China's economic growth.
The Xixian New Area, with a total planned area of 882 square kilometers, is a newly-developed district between Xi'an and the neighboring city of Xianyang. The new district, where the Airport New City logistics park is located, combines resources from the two cities with the ambition of turning Xi'an into an international metropolis.
The new area will host clusters of high-tech industries, including modern agriculture, cultural and tourism industries, as well as residential areas.
