A number of key international cooperative projects under the Belt and Road Initiative have recently begun production.
Among them are asteelplant project undertaken by China Metallurgical Group CorporationinHa Tinhprovince of Vietnam, the largest of its kind in Southeast Asia; a 483-MW gas-steam combined heat and power (CHP) plant built by a China-Russia joint venturein Yaroslavl, which is known as China's largest electricity project inRussia; Ethiopia's flagship Chinese-built Hawassa Industrial Park, the first national industrial park in the country; and the Sahiwal Coal Power Plant in Pakistan, the first major power plant under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Analysts say that China has been creating more important engineering projects for countries along the Belt and Road to help them develop their infrastructure. In the meantime, it has also brought relevant technologies to these countries to boost their sustainable development.
China's contracted projects in countries along the Belt and Road routes have been rising quickly over the past several years.
According to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce, Chinese enterprises signed new contracts worth US$126.03 billion in the Belt and Road countries in 2016, accounting for 51.6 percent of China's newly signed contracts overseas. Combined business revenue increased 9.7 percent year on year to US$75.97 billion, accounting for 47.7 percent of the national total.
The momentum continues this year, as a great number of projects under the Belt and Road are under construction.
"The Belt and Road Initiative has put forward brand new ideas for development," said Olaf Plotner, dean of executive education at the European School of Management and Technology.
Plotner noted, "With investment in infrastructure construction, the initiative creates opportunities for relevant countries to participate in global trade and improve local people’s livelihood, and thus boost the region’s sustainable development."