On January 24, 2024, the "Belt and Road & High-Quality Development Symposium" took place in Urumqi under the collaborative effort organized by ANBOUND, Xinjiang Association for Science and Culture Communication, Xinjiang Private Industrialists Union for Science and Technology, and the Secretariat of the Silk Road Development Forum. More than 60 representatives from the state and local governments, industry organizations, universities and think tanks, SOEs and private firms attended this event.

Yi Wang, Head of Global Development Program and senior researcher at ANBOUND, was invited as a keynote speaker presenting at the event. She shared what ANBOUND has completed the latest research studies on China's external environmental changes, the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with China's high-level opening-up, as well as new opportunities for the future of Xinjiang. She advocates three policy measures for Xinjiang, including skills education, sustainable urban development and improvement of wellbeing, international cooperation and open dialogue.

The participating experts and scholars also engaged in the panel discussion on topics, including Xinjiang's pilot free trade zone (FTZ) and its integration with other FTZs in China and foreign countries, the coordinated development of the FTZ with other places of Xinjiang, how to deepen international cooperation, and its strategic links for the domestic and international dual circulation.

China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone was newly approved at the end of 2023. It is composed of parts of Urumqi, Kashgar, and Khorgos, covers an area of 179.66 square kilometers and will focus on emerging industries and modern services. The zone will serve the construction of core areas of the Belt and Road Initiative, support the golden channel between Asia and Europe, and lead the opening-up of the western regions in China.