Xi'an plans to become home to 40 consulates in the next five to eight years as it prepares to assume a key role in the proposed Silk Road Economic Belt.

The potential of the ambition of the Shaanxi province's capital city can be seen from the fact that at present it only hosts two diplomatic missions.

By comparison, Shanghai hosts 73 and Guangzhou hosts 49 missions.

Xi'an is a pivotal city in the Silk Road Economic Belt initiated by President Xi Jinping in September 2013.

The city plans to invite bordering nations, members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and countries along the economic belt to establish consulates and boost its efforts to evolve into a regional service hub.

An area has been designated for the missions in the city's Chanba Ecological Zone. Infrastructure construction is due to start early next year, Cheng Bin, the deputy director of the zone, said during a recent tour by diplomats from 15 countries.

The Xi'an consulate area will cover 600,000 square meters and will be divided into two areas. Office buildings will be available for rent in one area, while in the other part countries will be able to construct buildings that suit their own purposes.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs approved plans for the consular area in August 2013 to assist the increasing number of foreign businesses and tourists in Shaanxi and elsewhere in China's vast western hinterland.

Cheng said detailed planning is complete and infrastructure is being built. An international school near the consulate area that provides preprimary to high school education for the children of diplomats is already in place.

"The area is equipped with the kinds of facilities consulates and their staff need, including hospitals, commercial institutions, apartments, shopping malls and the subway system," Cheng said.

The two consulates Xi'an currently hosts, those of Thailand and South Korea, opened in 2006 and 2008 respectively. Malaysia and Cambodia are in discussions with Chinese officials about setting up missions in the city.

Gao Zhenting, a counselor on international economic affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "Whether a country opens a consulate in Xi'an or not depends on its particular needs, and time will be required for matters to go through diplomatic procedures."

According to the diplomatic principle of reciprocity, two countries have the right to open an equal number of embassies and consulates in each other's countries, Gao added.

In addition to Shanghai and Guangzhou, 14 other Chinese cities host consulates, including Kunming in Yunnan province, Shenyang in Liaoning province, Chengdu in Sichuan province and Chongqing.

The location of a city is an important factor for foreign countries setting up consulates, Gao said, noting that Qingdao, in Shandong province, Lhasa, in the Tibet autonomous region, and Hohhot, in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, host missions for nearby countries.

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