By the center for promoting the Belt and Road Initiative under the National Development and Reform Commission of China
Although the COVID-19 pandemic raging across the worldlanded a severe blow on the global economy in 2020, China and other countries along the Belt and Road have secured hard-won results and made solid progress in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which has shown impressive resilience, vitality and appealamid the pandemic.
Last year, countries along the Belt and Roadfought against the virus through solidarity and put into practice the idea of building a community with a shared future for mankind in international anti-epidemic cooperation.
When China was in the depth of its own fight against the COVID-19, countries along the Belt and Road actively supported the Chinese people. A total of 79 countries and 10 international organizations have provided anti-epidemicmaterials for China.
While under huge pressure in containing the epidemicat home, China has offered assistance to more than 150 countries and 10 international organizations for their fight against the COVID-19, and sent 36 medical expert teamsto 34 countries in need.
As the largest producer of medical supplies, China has sent more than 220 billion masks, 2.25 billion protective suitsand 1.02 billion testing kits to countries across the globe.
Meanwhile, digital technologies of the country have played an important role infacilitating global anti-epidemic cooperation.
Huawei Cloud, the cloud computing unit of Chinese telecoms company Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd., has launched several digital medical devices.Chinese tech giant Tencent has provided digital communication tools for the United Nations and other international organizations.
In addition, Chinese education software, such as DingTalk and Feishu, have enteredthe list of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) recommendations for global distance learning solutions, becoming the first choice in remote learningfor 421 million students in 39 countries and regions.
While preventing and controlling the pandemic, China conducted close consultationsand signed cooperation documentson jointly buildingthe BRI with the African Union, the International Seabed Authority, Ukraine, Kiribati and other parties.
By the end of 2020, China had signed 203BRI cooperation documents with 138 countries and 31 international organizations.
China has managed tobalance epidemic prevention and control with the construction of overseas projects, and greatly improved infrastructure connectivityin various countries.
Seventy projects under the framework ofthe China-Pakistan Economic Corridorhave progressed in an orderly manner,during which there has been zero COVID-19 infection among employees at the sites of these projects.
The entire second phase of the Karakoram Highway and the Sukkur-Multan section of the Peshawar-Karachi Motorway in Pakistan havesuccessfully opened to traffic, andtheconstruction of the Matiari–Lahore direct current transmission linewas fully completed during the pandemic.
In the meantime, Tunnel No. 1 of the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway and all tunnels along the China-Laos railway were successfully holed through,the left line of the Belgrade-Zemunsection and the left line of the Zemun-Batajnicasection of the Hungary-Serbiarailway in Serbia were opened to traffic, and the steel beam of the main structure of the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh was closed.
China has taken the lead in resuming work and production, and gradually smoothened foreign trade industrial and supply chains, becoming an anchor of stability for global industrial and supply chains.
In 2020, China steadily advancedeconomic, trade, and investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. China’s imports and exports with countries along the routes of the BRI totaled 9.37 trillion yuan ($1.45 trillion), up 1 percent yearonyear.
During the first 11 months of 2020, China’s non-financial direct investment in countries along the routes reached $15.96 billion, a year-on-year increase of 24.9 percent.The amount accounted for 16.8 percent of China’s total non-financial direct investment in foreign countries during the period, 3.9 percentage points higher than that of the previous year.
Last year, China-Europe freight trains carried badly-needed medical supplies and necessities for the resumption of work and production to various countries, helping ensure normal production and life in these countries.
A total of 12,400 trips were made by China-Europe freight trainsin 2020, marking a 50-percent year-on-year growth. With 98.4 percent of the containers being fully loaded with goods, these trains reached 21 countries and 97 cities in Europe.
Source: People’s Daily
