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The 3rd Anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative - where are the business opportunities
14 Oct 2016

On 9 September 2016, Phoenix Infonews Reports “Where are the business opportunities”, marking the 3rd anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative which has been regarded as China’s most important economic diplomatic strategy since its Reform and Opening up.

 

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According to the Statistics, there are more than 100 countries and international organizations participating in the Belt and Road cooperation. China has signed agreements with more than 30 related countries for jointly constructing the Belt and Road. And more than 20 countries have joined with China in international industrial capacity cooperation. Financial platforms like Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund are drawing much attention, and a series of landmark projects are coming into being.

 

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On the land, Chengdu-Europe Express Rail extends to Xiamen, passing across more than 10,000 km to arrive in Poland. And the construction of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is in full swing. China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor plan has been signed. More projects such as New Eurasian Continental Bridge Economic Corridor, Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor, Hungary-Serbia railway, Jakarta-Bandung high-speed rail, China – Laos and China–Thailand Trans-Asian Railway Network are all under construction.

 


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For the maritime regions, the port cities and provinces including Shanghai, Fujian, Guangdong and Tianjin have all used their advantages and geographic locations for economic development. For example, Fujian, a core area of the maritime Silk Road, increased its volume of trade to RMB 139.8 billion for the first half of 2016, 8.1% more than that of last year in its business with countries and regions of the maritime Silk Road, and had 53 projects of investment, 1.5 times of the last year.     

 

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The data from China Ministry of Commerce shows that more than USD 51billion has been invested in the countries along the Belt and Road in the first seven months since the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative, making up 12% of China’s total foreign direct investment then. 12,500 project contracts have been signed for a total of USD 279 billion. 52 business cooperation zones have been set up in related countries with a total investment of USD16 billion, creating about 70,000 jobs and a tax revenue of USD900 million.

 

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Let’s see the feedback from the Belt and Road countries.

 

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Jean-Guy Carrier, Executive Chairman of Silk Road Chamber of International Commerce(SRCIC), said that many countries were seizing the opportunities from the Belt and Road construction to benefit from the cooperation.

 

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Andrea Tomat, Chairman of ICC Italy, stated that Italy and China had strengthened the connection and communication ever since the Belt and Road Initiative. Many projects and programs had already started.

 

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Jemal Inaishvili, President of Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry(CACCI), expressed that Georgia had gained a lot from the Belt and Road Initiative. Georgia had provided very good investment conditions for Chinese enterprises. In 2015, China was the fourth major trading partner of Georgia. The statistics from Georgian State Statistical Bureau indicates that Georgia has an import of USD587 million from China, 7.6% of the yearly total, and an export of USD 126 million to China, 5.7% of all the export. China and Georgia have finished substantive negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement, which will allow mutual tariff reduction for the companies in both countries and promote further business cooperation between the two countries.

 

(From Phoenix Infonews)