XI'AN, Nov. 12 (Xinhua) -- Container trucks weaved through the China-Europe freight train assembly center in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, while trains sounded their horns and set off westward from Xi'an, carrying goods across the Eurasian continent.
This center's automated terminal and digital systems, which link railway and customs data, caught the attention of French economist Marc Uzan. These upgrades have improved train operating efficiency by one-third.
The trip allows visitors to "see and feel the connectivity between China and Europe in very concrete terms," said Uzan, executive director and founder of the Reinventing Bretton Woods Committee. "There's a feeling that globalization is moving towards different dynamics. So this is a revival of the Silk Road in practice."
Uzan was among 25 think tank experts from 20 countries, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Romania, who visited Xi'an on Wednesday. They were in the city for the Belt and Road Forum for International Think Tank Cooperation 2026 & the 4th Silk Road (Xi'an) International Communication Forum.
These forums brought together experts and media professionals to discuss Belt and Road cooperation and international communication. Their visit, notably, took them beyond meeting rooms, through a city that was once an eastern starting point of the ancient Silk Road and is now an important Belt and Road hub connecting Eurasian trade routes with China's western opening-up endeavors.
At Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group, experts saw robotic arms at work in production workshops and shelves stocked with specialty products from Central Asia and Europe.
The company built a 300,000-tonne-per-year oil processing plant in northern Kazakhstan, which began operating in late 2016. Its contract farming operations there now cover 100,000 hectares of wheat, while its local feed, oilseed and flour facilities have helped create about 300 jobs.
Aiju has sparked an opportunity for farmers in Kazakhstan to sell their agricultural products to China, said Gulnar Shaimergenova, director of the China Studies Center (Kazakhstan). With convenient logistics between the two countries, she said, more Kazakh farmers are expected to be able to reach international markets.
At a local medical company, OUR United, a multidisciplinary team led by company chairman Liu Haifeng introduced an integrated X-ray and gamma-ray radiotherapy system launched in 2022. Combining the precision of gamma-ray treatment with the wider coverage of X-rays, this system offers non-invasive, high-precision radiotherapy.
"Every year I see the results of hard work in implementing new technologies," said Andrei Radulescu, a senior researcher at the Institute for World Economy within the Romanian Academy. "And of course these couldn't have been possible without a strong, harmonious society and a stronger long-term vision."
He added that China's 15th Five-Year Plan emphasizes new quality productive forces, focusing on long-term economic resilience and continuity of this unique development pathway.
The experts also visited Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum and the Xi'an Public Library, where they discussed how libraries can continue to attract readers in the age of artificial intelligence.
Mirzokhid Rakhimov, director of Uzbekistan's Contemporary History Center of the Academy of Sciences, said that over his multiple trips to China, he has witnessed constant progress in the country's social and economic development.
Rakhimov said there is considerable potential for joint research, publication and academic partnership among Belt and Road countries and regions. He expected more opportunities for China-Europe freight trains, which he described as "one of the most dynamic railway connections in the world."
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