BRI draws a splendid picture of people-to-people bond
By Zhang Fan
The 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) kicked
off in Beijing on April 25. Nearly 5,000 participants from more than 150
countries and 90 international organizations gather at the three-day event to
cement people-to-people bond and build splendid dreams.
In the past 6 years, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been translated
from an envisioned concept into real action and progress on the ground.
This March, the Boten Tunnel of the China-Laos Railway was dug
through, which marked a key progress for the railway project. Many young people
of Laos dressed up and posed for pictures at the construction site to witness
this significant moment.
The villagers along the railway were also frequent visitors of the
project site. They expressed their hope on an earlier operation of the railway,
as the trains can bring their fruits and rubber to China and more countries.
The railway, which carries the dream of the Lao people, is a result of
the strategic alignment between China’s BRI and Laos’ strategy to convert from
a landlocked country to a land-linked hub, and also a miniature of the BRI’s implementation
to improve infrastructure and enhance people-to-people bond.
With the proposal of BRI initiative, the total trade volume between
China and the BRI countries has exceeded $6 trillion, and the 82 cooperation
parks jointly built by China and other participation countries have created nearly
300,000 jobs for local communities.
In addition, progress has been made in education cooperation, culture,
tourism and medical aid, bringing not only development opportunities, but also
a sense of participation, a sense of gain, and happiness to the people.
Friendship, which derives from close contact between the people, holds
the key to sound state-to-state relations. During the implementation of BRI, China has always adhered to the
livelihood-oriented international cooperation, and is dedicated to building
more and more projects to bring benefits to the people. BRI has created
tangible welfare to the people of related countries.
Local people in Kyaukpyu, Myanmar were always unwilling to go out at
night in the town used to be shrouded in darkness. Thanks to the China-Myanmar
natural gas pipeline, Kyaukpyu is illuminated at night, and now the streets are
lighted with lamps. The project has won high appraisal from local residents.
From the operation of the Stung Russei Chrum hydropower station in
Cambodia, the Belo Monte ultrahigh voltage power project in Brazil, and the
power projects in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, to the China-Thai
Railway, the Jakarta-Bandung High Speed Rail, and the Belgrade-Budapest Railway
that are under construction, the BRI projects are bringing benefits to more and
more people.
The construction of the Mombasa–Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway created
over 40,000 jobs for Kenya. It was common to see young Africans lining up and
looking for jobs at the industrial parks built and operated by Chinese
enterprises in Africa.
Thanks to the BRI and the China-Europe freight train, the Kazakh woman
surnamed Anita who came to China to study Chinese met her other half and
started her own e-commerce company.
With the construction of a Chinese car factory in South Africa, an
employee surnamed Patrick has become a skillful technical worker after
receiving training from the Chinese side. The decent job enabled him and his
family to move to a big house near the factory.
The BRI turns the dreams of the participating countries and their
people into common aspiration, and is making efforts to make these dreams come
true and ensure happiness of the people.
That is why the BRI is receiving increasing global recognition. The
initiative is welcomed by the Lao people who specifically composed a song for
it.A female German driver has also made promotion pamphlets to spread the ideas
of the BRI. The initiative is making a symphony of people-to-people bond along
the Belt and Road routes.
Ana Jovanovic is a Chinese teacher at the University of Belgrade, Serbia. When she
was a college student, Chinese language was still an unpopular major. But
nowadays, the Chinese major is very much welcomed, and its recruitment is also
expanding by times.
Not only in Serbia, today, learning Chinese and Chinese songs has
become a fashion in many BRI countries. The “passion” for Chinese reflects the
demand for economic and trade exchanges, and is also a result of cultural
exchanges.
In the recent six years, cultural exchanges and activities have been
held frequently along the Belt and Road, such as Silk Road cultural years,
tourism years, art festivals, think tanks and dialogues. The frequent exchanges
are drawing closer the hearts of the people, becoming a bridge that promotes
their friendship. The exchanges are laying solid foundation for the implementation
of BRI.
As a Chinese old saying goes, good friends feel close even when they
are thousands of miles apart. Earlier this year, the China Foundation for
Poverty Alleviation launched an international campaign to deliver “care
packages” to elementary and middle school students in the developing countries
along the Belt and Road. Upon receiving a package, a Nepalese child said she
wanted to visit China.
Mountains and seas cannot separate the people if their hearts are
close. The Belt and Road is a road full of hope along which the world can reach
a brighter future.
(Source: People’s Daily)
Passengers board a train at the Nairobi South station of the
Mombasa-Nairobi Standard-Gauge Railway. Photo by Li Zhiwei, People’s Daily
BRI draws a splendid picture of people-to-people bond
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