The 2020 Beijing-Hangzhou Dialogue on the Grand Canal event opened on Sept. 23 in Beijing. Themed "Beijing and Hangzhou on the Canal, Building a Shared New Future," the event brought together experts from home and abroad to explore strategies to better develop a cultural belt along the canal.

Du Feijin, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee; Zhu Guoxian, member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee; Liu Xin, deputy secretary of the CPC Hangzhou Committee and mayor of Hangzhou, and Chen Lujun, president of China News Service (CNS) delivered keynote speeches during the event.

Du underscored the role that the event plays in helping promote the coordinated development of Beijing and Hangzhou.

He said, "In order to better promote the construction of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt, it is necessary to give play to the leading role of culture in driving growth, promote rejuvenation and enhance cultural self-confidence in the new era, boost regional synergy innovatively, and deepen communication with the rest of the world, in order to write a new chapter in the dialogue between Chinese and foreign civilizations."

Zhu explained that local governments will prioritize preservation works and make rational and integrated efforts to conserve the ecosystem along the Grand Canal, so as to effectively highlight the canal's role as a World Heritage Site.

During his speech, Liu emphasized that efforts should be made to make the Grand Canal into a cultural, economic and technological platform that serves the people.

Chen added that the dialogue will energize the abundant cultural resources found along the Grand Canal, implement the industrialization of cultural sectors, and bring tangible benefits to people's life. Chen suggest all actors of the event to enhance innovation capacities, adopt new technologies, and achieve interdisciplinary integration, so as to make full use of the canal's value in the new era.

All parties expressed hope that the 2020 Beijing-Hangzhou Dialogue will help push forward construction of the cultural belt along the canal, and explore a new model of regional cooperation with culture taking a lead in driving growth. In this way, it can form a new pattern of synergy among cities along the canal, and once again revitalize the canal with its history of more than 2,500 years.

Ou Xiaoli, director of the Department of Social Development and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC); Zhao Weidong, executive deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Beijing Municipal Committee; Lai Yingjie, executive deputy director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee; Zhang Baojuan, chairman of the World Historic and Cultural Canal Cities Cooperation Organization (WCCO) and mayor of Yangzhou also delivered themed speeches on multiple topics concerning the development of the Grand Canal Cultural Belt. These included such matters as policy implementation, cultural development in cities along the canal, and coordinated development of canal cities around the world.

Each year, Beijing and Hangzhou host the Beijing-Hangzhou Dialogue on the Grand Canal event on a rotational basis. This year is the second time that the event has been held.