Foreign firms, too, gain from Belt & Road

By teaming up with Chinese partners, MNCs strike gold in the B&R Initiative

New facts appear to demystify the Belt and Road Initiative led by China, which aims to strengthen nations on and beyond the ancient Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road routes through trade and infrastructure networks across Asia, Africa and Europe.

For long, skeptics believed the B&R Initiative, which was launched in 2013, will ultimately benefit China and its companies more than others. There were even whisper campaigns that development is merely the ostensible goal of the initiative; the perceived truth was that it is China’s covert attempt to emerge as a 21st-century hegemon.

Four years down the line, facts and figures clearly indicate even non-Chinese, nonAsian multinational companies are just as well positioned to benefit massively from the initiative.

Many of these MNCs are seeking to tap huge business opportunities spawned by the initiative. Some of them have already teamed up, or are teaming up, with Chinese partners in countries and regions covered by the B&R Initiative, angling for a slice of the gigantic trade and infrastructure cake.

For instance, Munich-based engineering and electronics giant Siemens AG is intensifying collaboration on B&R-related projects in various countries and regions.

According to Cedrik Neike, member of the managing board of Siemens, the company plans to cooperate more with Chinese partners under the framework of the initiative this year.

“With our experience and world-class project management, we have the potential to be bridge builders between Chinese players and international suppliers and customers, and together with our Chinese EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) partners we will focus on paving the road to success in these countries,” he said.

“As one of the largest foreign-invested companies in China, Siemens has more than 32,000 employees working in numerous joint ventures and company operations spread across the country, and the Initiative will only help in tightening our relationships.” Cedrik Neike,

Siemens is among the earliest foreign companies to partner with Chinese enterprises to explore overseas markets together. It started operations in China some 20 years ago, and its growth gathered momentum in recent years, after the launch of the B&R Initiative, and with the rapid development of Chinese EPC enterprises in the global arena.

By 2016, Siemens had joined forces with more than 100 Chinese EPC players in exploring more than 60 overseas markets. Its partners include China National Petroleum Corp, the country’s biggest oil producer, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, and Power China.

According to Neike, EPC contracts bagged by Chinese firms are worth around $125 billion.

Siemens expects the cumulative potential over the next 10 years will be over $1 trillion.

“We see sweet spots in select countries where we can position Siemens as a high-value provider and partner of China,” he said.

Like Siemens, many Western MNCs with leading technologies and a global footprint have vouched support for Chinese companies seeking to go global and adapt to local markets overseas, in fields like power, oil and gas, chemicals, minerals and building materials.

Boston-headquartered General Electric or GE, one of the first MNCs to enter the Chinese market over a century ago, has decided to jointly explore new wind power opportunities in Pakistan by teaming up with Power Construction Corp of China.

This move is part of GE’s more than 10 Pakistan power projects with Chinese EPC players in recent years.

John Rice, GE vice-chairman, said the B&R Initiative is a shining example of how GE can benefit from China’s opening-up.

“In many cases, we are well equipped in being a great partner participating in the Belt and Road Initiative and we can also benefit from that,” Rice said during a previous interview during his trip to China as part of the business delegation accompanying US President Donald Trump on his state visit.

To date, GE has partnered with over 30 Chinese EPC companies in more than 70 markets across Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Europe. The company and its Chinese partners will further invest in power grids, new energy, oil and gas, in B&R countries and regions.

Honeywell International Inc, the US-based manufacturing and technology conglomerate, has also been immersed for years in supplying automation products and other technologies for infrastructure and energy projects, such as Cen-

We (can) be bridge builders between Chinese players and international suppliers ...” member Siemens board