Jinan, capital city of East China's Shandong province, has great potential for cooperation with cities in Central Asia, deputy mayor of Jinan Li Zijun said at the fourth Conference on Dialogue of China-Central Asia Cooperation which concluded on Tuesday in Jinan.
Jinan's foreign trade with five Central Asian countries totaled 742 million yuan ($110.7 million) in 2018, a year-on-year growth of 84.5 percent, according to statistics provided by the Jinan government.
Growth maintained momentum in the first quarter of the year, registering year-on-year growth of 145.5 percent.
A total of 67 Europe-Asia freight trains have run between Jinan and Central Asia as of May 10, boosting the city's foreign trade.
Li said the city is working on increasing rail services between Jinan and Central Asia to daily services.
During the conference a forum themed on media communication under the Belt and Road Initiative was held, at which representatives from China and Central Asian media outlets signed a proposal for Belt and Road media cooperation.