Fuzhou, capital of East China’s Fujian province, will strive to become a key city on the modern maritime silk road, said Yang Yue, the city’s secretary of the Communist Party of China, on Sunday.

As a port city and one of the birthplaces of the Maritime Silk Road, Fuzhou has been involved in the road’s growth and made itself known to the world, he said at a keynote speech at a summit on building the 21st Century maritime silk road.

The ancient Maritime Silk Road generally refers to several marine routes between China, Southeast Asian countries as well as the Western world for trade and cultural communications for more than 2,000 years.

In October, China’s president proposed reviving the route and building a new maritime silk road in order to enhance maritime cooperation with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The new maritime silk road plan is the common wish of all the port cities along the route and will boost friendships and the economy, Yang said.

Fuzhou has a sea area of 11,000 square kilometers and 1,137 kilometers of coastline, not to mention a vast economic hinterland, which all contribute to a strong ocean economy, he said.

After China’s opening-up and reform policy in the late 1970s, Fuzhou became one of the first port cities to open. Now Fuzhou is building the Fuzhou New Area and plans to build a Min River Delta Economic Circle.

Fuzhou also opened marine traffic routes to more than 30 countries and regions. The trade volume between Fuzhou and ASEAN members have reached $4.2 billion, which provides a great impetus to reviving the modern maritime silk road, Yang said.

Faced with this rare opportunity, Fuzhou should revive the great spirit of the ancient maritime silk road. It will stick to China’s development strategy, promote an open economy and build itself into a pivotal stop on the new maritime silk road of the 21st Century, he said.

Fujian Vice Governor Zheng Xiaosong, Fuzhou Mayor Yang Yimin, and Wei Jianguo, vice chairman of the China Center for International Economic Exchanges, and mayors from countries on the maritime silk road also attended the summit.