Edwin M Lee, former mayor of San Francisco who died last year, considered the exhibition of Moutai at the expo a significant event for the history of his city, which has strong cultural links with the Chinese people.

Moutai's trip to San Francisco, as well as its subsequent recognition as a successful Chinese brand, was monumental in our company's history and gave spiritual support for us to constantly pursue perfection.

In the long history of human civilization, be it the bronze, industrial or information eras, a yearning to go to the outside world is always a driving force for progress.

During the past decades, we experienced a lot of difficulties - isolation, scarcity in material supplies and cultural deprivation - so we long for openness and inclusiveness just like anyone else. We see the Silk Road of the new era as a golden opportunity for opening-up and for bringing benefits to more people in the world.

With such a recognition of the role of the new Silk Road, we still need courage, confidence and perseverance to make our expectations come true.

Despite all the uncertainties in today's global trade, we know that the difficulties we need to overcome are much smaller than those that the pioneers faced some 2,000 years ago. We are confident that we have the wisdom required to create a more friendly environment for business and cultural exchanges.

Golden crossroads

Over the centuries, Dunhuang was at the crossroads for important business and cultural exchanges.

As a hub on the ancient trade route, Dunhuang witnessed the fruitful exchanges of both commerce and cultures. Cultural exchange is the result of international trade and business connections and in turn it helps to promote social prosperity and results in increased openness and inclusiveness.

As in ancient times, such hubs for commercial and cultural exchanges as Dunhuang can still play an important role in today's society and economy. The success of such hubs relies not only on their unique geographical locations, but also on the support of governments.

We are happy to see that Dunhuang is still playing a role in international exchanges. The current Silk Road expo is expected to inject new vigor into the city and the ancient trade route as various cultures meet here, helping to increase understanding among peoples from different countries and regions.