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B&R News: B&R pushes Chinese and global firms to team up
5 Jun 2018

 

A local employee works on a ceramic tile production line at an industrial park, the first China-invested joint venture industrial park, in Uzbekistan. (Photo/Xinhua)

 

The Belt and Road Initiative has already produced several tangible results, which will continue to boost revenue growth of both Chinese and foreign companies, while improving their ability to execute big-ticket projects, an executive of CITS American Express Global Business Travel said.

 

"This grand Initiative will not only rejuvenate ancient trade routes, but also further open up markets and accelerate economic integration on a transparent, equal and innovative ground," Kevin Tan, vice-president and general manager of the travel firm's China operations, said.

 

Forty percent of companies and organizations in the initiative's footprint have reported plans to expand business travel budgets because of the opportunities presented by the humongous project, Tan said, quoting data from the CITS American Express Global Business Travel 2017 China Business Travel Barometer.

 

A consensus has developed among them that the Belt and Road Initiative is "not just China's initiative, but also a global opportunity", he said.

 

Karel van de Pijpekamp, CEO of International SOS China, a firm specializing in medical and travel security assistance, said the undertaking has great potential for Chinese companies and foreign companies to work together. He called on MNCs to imbibe the "philosophy" of the initiative.

 

Cooperation based on the Belt and Road Initiative needs to be gradually deepened, from a single aspect to multifaceted ones, Rachel Duan, president and CEO of GE China, said.

 

A breakthrough in models of global cooperation would be achieved through joint efforts in market development, financing and operation, Duan said.

 

Trade volume between China and other B&R economies expanded 17.8 percent year-on-year to 7.4 trillion yuan ($1.14 trillion) in 2017, and China's exports to countries and regions involved in the initiative increased by 12.1 percent in 2017 from one year earlier, while imports from the economies rose 26.8 percent year-on-year, according to Chinese Ministry of Commerce.