Dong Jun, a deputy to the National People's Congress and mayor of Xi'an, stated on the 5th at the plenary session of the Shaanxi delegation to the NPC that advancing the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt is a major national strategy of overall importance and far-reaching impact. However, on the whole, problems remain such as converging regional functional positioning, overlapping industrial layouts, and homogeneous competition. He suggested that the state establish a Xi'an Pilot Free Trade Zone to make it the first hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt connecting Europe and Asia and linking the east and the west.

　　Dong Jun said that at present, all parts of the country are actively responding to the central government's call, formulating and issuing a series of plans and programs in light of local conditions, and have also launched and implemented much specific work. However, on the whole, problems remain such as converging regional functional positioning, overlapping industrial layouts, and homogeneous competition.

　　He cited as an example that for opening international freight trains connecting Europe and Asia, Xi'an has the "Chang'an" service, and many domestic cities (Chongqing, Zhengzhou, Chengdu, Wuhan, Suzhou, Yiwu, Hefei, etc.) have also successively opened or are preparing to open similar dedicated trains. But these freight trains all face a prominent problem: sufficient cargo at the point of departure but scarce cargo for the return trip, with even "empty-load" phenomena occurring, causing enormous waste of resources. Therefore, he suggested that the state strengthen top-level design, clarify major matters such as the functional positioning, industrial layout, and resource integration of the provinces, regions, and municipalities along the route, and accelerate the formation of a sound development pattern featuring coordinated integration of regional industries and complementary and shared resources.

　　Second, Dong Jun suggested that the state establish a Xi'an Pilot Free Trade Zone for the Silk Road Economic Belt.

　　He stated that as the starting city of the ancient Silk Road and an important pivot city in the national strategy of opening westward, Xi'an has outstanding advantages in many aspects, including history and culture, geographical location, scientific and educational resources, industrial foundation, and port platforms.

　　To further give play to Xi'an's radiating, driving, serving, and supporting role in the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, he suggested that the state establish a Xi'an Pilot Free Trade Zone to make it the first hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt connecting Europe and Asia and linking the east and the west, thereby achieving the effect of using a point to connect a line and using a line to drive an area, realizing mutual integration and connectivity and coordinated development among the eight urban agglomerations involved in the Silk Road Economic Belt, as well as between the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the coastal economic belt, and providing stronger support for building a new pattern of an open economy and creating an upgraded version of the Chinese economy.