On the evening of Thursday, September 11, during the 2025 NEAR Sub-Committee on Tourism, NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin and the NEAR delegation held a group meeting with Dong Ling, Vice Chairperson of the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region People’s Congress.
Secretary-General Lim highlighted that “Ningxia is a region where China’s ‘Western Development Strategy’ and the ‘Yellow River Basin Ecological Protection and High-Quality Development Strategy’ are being implemented simultaneously. It is also a historical and cultural hub where the Yellow River and the Silk Road intersect. In this context, it is highly meaningful that the first meeting of the NEAR Sub-Committee on Tourism for multilateral exchanges and cooperation among Northeast Asian local governments is taking place here.” He further expressed hope that “this Sub-Committee on Tourism will serve as a valuable opportunity to further expand exchanges and cooperation in the tourism industry among NEAR member governments.”
In her welcome remarks, Vice Chairperson Dong Ling introduced the strengths of Ningxia and Zhongwei City’s tourism industry, and proposed three areas of cooperation: (1) deepening practical exchanges between local governments, (2) strengthening professional exchanges and cooperation in the tourism sector , and (3) actively promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges. She further emphasized that “this Sub-Committee on Tourism should go beyond being a forum for exchanges and evolve into a substantive cooperation platform that contributes to the common prosperity of the region.”
The group meeting was attended by NEAR Secretary-General Lim Byung-jin; Ch. Gansukh, Vice Governor of Khövsgöl Aimag, Mongolia; B. Narangbayar, Vice Governor of Bayankhongor Aimag, Mongolia; Ts. Ariunbayar, Vice Governor of Dundgovi Aimag, Mongolia; Vyacheslav Sukhorukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia; Counselor Kim Eung-su of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China; Zhumakan Shyngyskhan, Director of Tourism Department of Turkestan Region, Kazakhstan; Kazuyuki Nakazato, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of Japanese Prefectural Governments in China; Consul Kim Young-min of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Xi’an; Kim Dong-cheol, Director of Jeollanam-do Shanghai Office; and Chao Dandan, Deputy Director of Gyeongsangnam-do Shanghai Office, among other key overseas participants.
From the Chinese side, attendees included Liu Guoqiang, Party Secretary of Zhongwei City; Ma Xiulan, Mayor of Zhongwei City; Bai Yuzhen, Director General of the Ningxia Foreign Affairs Office; Fan Yong, Director General of the Jiangxi Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Wang Liwen, Vice President of the Hunan Provincial People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries; and Zhao Huaizhi, Party Leadership Member of the Ningxia Department of Culture and Tourism, among many others.
Following the official meeting, Vice Chairperson Dong hosted a welcome dinner for the participating delegates.