Infrastructure connectivity stabilizer and propeller for Belt and Road Initiative: official

Infrastructure connectivity, foundation for cooperation and development, is the top priority in building of the Belt and Road Initiative.

China, in the guiding principle of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, has carried out pragmatic cooperation on railway, road construction, maritime transport, civil aviation and postal services with countries along the Belt and Road, effectively advancing regional transport connectivity and implementation of the initiative. Over the past four years, China has signed more than 130 bilateral and regional transport agreements on railway, road, maritime transport, civil aviation and postal services with relevant countries; China has formulateda number of regional transport development strategic plans; China has opened 356 international road and land-sea multimodal transport routesvia 73 land and water ports; China has helped build 11 cross-border railways.

The China-Europe freight trains now connect China with 29 cities in 11 European countries. With a number of cross-border and regional transport infrastructure projects coming into operation, the sea, land and air three-dimensional transport system network connecting China with countries along the Belt and Road routes is taking shape.

Infrastructure connectivity serves as the stabilizer promoting economic growth in relevant countries and the propeller for pragmatic cooperation along the Belt and Road.

Take the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor as an example. The Pakistan government's statistics show that Chinese enterprises' investment in Pakistan has exceeded US$20 billion, and relevant projects have created nearly 20,000 jobs directly and 100,000 jobs indirectly.

Projects under the initiative, including the Mombasa-Nairobi Railway in Kenya, Colombo Port and Hambantota Port in Sri Lanka and Piraeus Port in Greece greatly improve local infrastructure and bring great joys to local residents.

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank has provided US$1.7 billion to finance nine projects in countries and regions taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative, and the Silk Road Fund's investment in infrastructure projects has exceeded US$4 billion. China and 16 Central and Eastern European countries have also jointly founded a financial holding corporation. These financial supports are indispensable to the fast progress of the transport-related infrastructure projects.

(The author is Ren Weimin, director general of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Transport. This is an excerpt from his article which was first published in Chinese. The translator is Li Yang.)