‘ Belt and Road’ initiative begins to show positive results, ministry official says

Trade between China and the “Belt and Road” countries and regions exceeded $ 600 billion, 26 percent of China’s total foreign trade, during the first eight months of 2016, said Fang Aiqin, deputy head of the Ministry of Commerce.

Fang was speaking at a seminar on the “Belt and Road” ini- tiative that opened on Monday in Xi’an, capital of Northwest China’s Shaanxi Province.

From January to August, China invested nearly $ 10 billion in countries and regions along the “Belt and Road” through financial institutions including the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the Silk Road Fund.

Fang said that Chinese firms have set up more than 50 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in the “Belt and Road” countries and regions, with a total investment of $ 15.6 billion, creating $ 900 million in tax revenue and about 70,000 jobs in host countries.

The “Belt and Road” initiative refers to the Silk Road Eco- nomic Belt and the 21st- Century Maritime Silk Road initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013. The initiative brings together countries and regions in Asia, Europe and even Africa via overland and maritime networks.

He Lifeng, deputy head of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that in the three years since the launch of the initiative, more than 30 countries have signed cooperation agreements with China on the matter.