CCCC chairman Liu discusses outlook for China’s Belt and Road

BEIJING: China Communications Construction Co (CCCC) chairman Liu Qitao discusses the outlook for China’s Belt and Road Initiative, and his company’s role as the biggest builder of projects in this bid to strengthen trade links across Asia, Europe and Africa.

Liu spoke in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Tom Mackenzie at the company’s Beijing headquarters in August. The interview was conducted as part of a four-part series examining the impact the Belt and Road Initiative is having around the world.

The company, also known as CCCC, has more than US$100bil of projects under construction outside China.

What factors led to CCCC becoming such a major player in the Belt & Road Initiative?

CCCC is indeed China’s biggest service provider for infrastructure investment, construction and operations in the Belt and Road initiatives. We are able to have so many projects in countries along the Belt and Road thanks to China’s reform and opening up in the past four decades. Forty years ago, western countries invested in China, helping China develop while companies like us have grown our own capability to meet the massive infrastructure demand in Belt and Road countries. So the two sides can work together on a lot of projects.

How many projects do you expect to eventually break ground on? In the next five to 10 years, for example, how many additional projects do you expect to add in the Belt & Road Initiative to your portfolio?

We are now operating in more than 100 countries and regions outside China, with more than 700 projects under construction and a combined contract value exceeding US$100bil. Seventy percent of our overseas projects are based in Belt and Road regions.

These countries are like China before its reform and opening up. They have substantial development needs, especially in transportation infrastructure.

I think demand for Belt & Road projects will continue to grow 10% a year.

In which countries do you see the greatest demand now for your services?

I think the whole African continent has opportunities for development. There is a large, young workforce. Economic growth is slow so there are few job opportunities so I think right now they are like China in the 1970’s. Given China’s development through these years, I think Africa will also embrace development opportunities. Other countries along the Belt and Road region also have great development opportunities but it’s hard for me to single out one.

How much demand are you seeing for European countries for the Belt & Road projects?

I think there will be a lot of opportunities and also what we do in Belt and Road is market-based. We have a lot of cooperation with companies in the west.

What would you say are the main challeng- es for your company operating abroad?

There are of course many challenges: change of government, regional conflicts, wars, diseases, they all pose very big challenges for us operating oversea. Terrorist attack is also a challenge.

In Europe, does the increasing scrutiny from the European Commission over Chinese investment in Europe pose a threat to the Belt & Road initiatives there?

This is something we have to deal with frequently. Some western media and the opposition parties in some countries have all kinds of discussions. We have principles when choosing investments. The project must meet the highest standards of environmental protection and bring benefit to the country’s economic and societal development and people’s livelihoods. We have gone through experiences when governments change, they put our projects on hold, review it again. As long as they are good for the country and they are a winwin, everyone will go ahead.