B& R initiative perks up economies
Power shortages reduced, schools improved, travel times shortened
The China- proposed Belt and Road ( B& R) initiative is boosting regional connectivity, improving infrastructure in countries and regions along the route and bringing tangible benefits to citizens, perking up the local economies, said officials on Wednesday at a seminar of the annual Summer Davos in Dalian, Northeast China’s Liaoning Province.
The B& R initiative comes at a time when developing countries and regions are struggling to find growth drivers amid the global economic meltdown, Ahsan Iqbal, the Minister of Planning and Development of Pakistan, said at a panel discussion.
For developing countries like Pakistan, the B& R initiative provides a platform to “connect to new markets and drives up new demand,” Iqbal said. In 2013, China and Pakistan signed a memorandum of understanding on the China- Pakistan Economic Corridor worth $ 50 billion.
It is a flagship project under the B& R initiative.
“The project is making a big difference to the lives of Pakistanis,” Iqbal hailed. “The benefits [ give an economic jolt] like instant coffee.”
For example, the power shortages in Pakistan have been reduced, schools and medical institutions are getting better, incomes are improved and travel times are shortened, according to Iqbal.
The B& R initiative also “brings mutual benefits for Singapore and China as well as Association of Southeast Asian Nations ( ASEAN) member countries,” Ann Sim, the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore, said at the panel.
“There are 67 million households within ASEAN countries at the moment, and this number is set to double by 2025.”
Sim noted that the Chongqing Connectivity Initiative, which is a government- to- government project between China and Singapore that focuses on four areas including finance, aviation, transportation and information technology, is a demonstration of the benefits.
Harold Peters, senior consultant for logistics firm UPS’s Asia- Pacific region, said that thanks to the improved links, the China- Europe rail service has reduced shipping time up to 65 percent compared with traditional ocean freight service.
The delivery firm has added six more Chinese cities in March to its international rail network linking China and Europe.
Peters suggested that the B& R countries should combine their infrastructure building with trade openness, so that they can best reap the benefits of B& R initiative.
In terms of infrastructure construction under the B& R initiative, Danny Alexander, vice president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, said at a panel that B& R countries should beef up efforts to “mobilize private capital” in addition to government funding and loans from multinational financial institutions.
To attract private investors, “The infrastructure projects need to be well- structured and the policy environment should be stable,” according to Alexander.