Leonidas C. Rokanas, Greek ambassador to China, picked a wine off the shelves at Chengdu International Railway Port. He selected an Italian wine, which had arrived in Chengdu in southwest China via a China-Europe cargo train about two weeks previously.
Rokanas and 17 other foreign diplomats were in Chengdu to join a week-long trip to visit a southwestern part of the ancient Silk Road. The 18 diplomats came from 15 countries, including Poland, Argentina, Laos, Ethiopia and South Africa.
They stayed at Chengdu Oct. 16-19 before going to neighboring Chongqing municipality where they will stay until Oct. 22.
They will visit places such as the Dujiangyan Irrigation Project, the Jinsha Ruins and Songmao ancient path, to gain a greater understanding of southwest China's development.
Rokanas said the China-Europe cargo trains, a significant aspect of the Belt and Road Initiative, had boosted trade between southwest China and Europe.
"Many European products have come to China via the train routes, and vice versa. The train services have greatly shortened distance between Chengdu and Europe," he said.
Raffaella Di Carlo, an Italian diplomat, said he hoped the trip would help him discover more areas where Italy and southwest China could cooperate as part of the Belt and Road Initiative.
The initiative, which China proposed in 2013, refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, aiming at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting countries and regions along the ancient Silk Road.
In a bid to improve cross-border transport facilities and develop export-oriented industries, the China-Europe freight train service, first launched in 2011, has grown into an important part of the initiative.
