Panjin, Liaoning province, will play a strong role in the Belt and Road Initiative and facilitate the development of the province as a pivotal hub for reform and openingup in East Asia, the city's top official told China Daily.

Xing Peng, mayor of Panjin and a deputy to the National People's Congress, China's top legislature, said the city will serve as a model of cooperation between China and Saudi Arabia through the Huajin Aramco Petrochemical Co, an energy collaboration project promoted by the leaders of the two countries.

With a total planned investment of 83.7 billion yuan ($11.62 billion), the project involves the construction of 32 processing facilities with an annual refining capacity of 15 million metric tons.

The project is a strategic initiative to ensure national energy security and will be a powerful engine that drives local economic development, Xing said during the ongoing two sessions, the annual meetings of the NPC and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

The project is designed to upgrade the entire chain of Panjin's petrochemical industry from crude oil to organic chemicals.

Once completed, it will play a major role in Liaoning's plan to become a worldclass petrochemical and fine chemical industrial base, he said.

Since the project started construction in March last year, it is now nearly 30 percent complete. Over 18 billion yuan will be invested to ensure that the project, which will cover nearly 9 square kilometers, is half finished by the end of the year, Xing said. Xing said the project is not only a model for Sino-Saudi strategic cooperation, but also aims to promote more investment in Panjin and facilitate breakthroughs in practical cooperation within emerging sectors.

The city will strengthen capital cooperation with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East in sectors such as specialized chemicals, high-performance rubber and engineering plastics, he said.

Panjin is also conducting promotional activities in Germany, Switzerland and the Netherlands to foster discussions with global chemical giants that have the most advanced technologies in the petrochemical industry, he added.