Xi Yanchun:
Let's thank Mr. NingJizhe for his briefing. Now the floor is open to Mr. Xin Guobin.
Xin Guobin:
Friends from the press, ladies and gentlemen, good morning! First I wish to thank you for your continuous support and concern for China’s development of industry and information technology. Please allow me to give you a briefing on how the MIIT has been working to promote the tasks relating to the Belt and Road Initiative.
First, we have strengthened policy coordination. We actively worked with countries along the Belt and Road concerning their development strategies on industry and communications, and coordinated policies with them. We promoted mutual recognition of industrial standards and explored cooperation potential.
With Russia we signed governmental cooperation documents on civil aviation. With Poland's Ministry of Energy we inked a cooperation deal on new-energy vehicles. With Cambodia, Iran, Bangladesh and Afghanistan we signed MoU on the cooperation in the fields of information and communication technologies. With the five nations in the East Africa Community (EAC), Ethiopia and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) we signed cooperation deals on jointly building an information superhighway in East Africa. With Cuba's Ministry of Industry, we jointly compiled the long-term development plan of Cuba's industry.
At the same time, we have drafted the "Opinion on the Implementation of the Service from the Standardized work of the Industry and Communication Sectors for the 'Belt and Road' Construction," a move to facilitate the mutual recognition of China's standards and those from other countries. In this way, China's advanced technological standards will be introduced to countries along the Belt and Road before serving their local economic development. So far, Ethiopia and Kenya have started implementing Chinese industrial standards on cement and construction ceramics, respectively.
Second, we continued to improve our service systems. We improved interdepartmental working mechanisms with the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Commerce, among others and established cooperation mechanisms with the National Development Bank (NDB), and the Export-Import Bank of China.
We strengthened contact and communication with key industrial associations and research institutes. We guided the industrial associations for petrochemical, steel, non-ferrous, construction material and communication to form an international alliance for capacity cooperation so as to provide information and consultations to the corporate sector. We promulgated code of conducts for enterprises eyeing the international markets, reduce irregular competition and actively fulfil social responsibilities in countries we invested in.
Third, we coordinated and guided mutually beneficial industrial cooperation. We actively built the docking platforms for the cooperation on international capacity and equipment manufacturing, invited countries along the Belt and Road to participate activities for industrial transfers and dockings and expos for international SMEs. We made most of the bilateral and multilateral mechanisms and organized industrial associations and enterprises to go abroad to facilitate their direct communication and dockings with local companies. In this way we deepened industrial cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road.
So far, in the sectors of raw materials, petrol refinery and agricultural chemicals, overseas projects under construction have a total contract value of US$60 billion. China's non-ferrous sector invested in Russia and Indonesia, among the total 15 countries along the Belt and Road. Enterprises in the construction material sector invested in a total of 33 projects overseas.
In the equipment sector, rail transit, engineering machinery, automobiles - which represent the higher technological level - rushed to invest in countries along the Belt and Road. In the electronic information sector, many PV enterprises invested in the solar power stations in the United States, Japan, Europe, South America and Southeast Asia, or contracted the engineering, procurement, and construction (ECP) package.
Fourth, we promoted the cooperation and construction of industrial parks. We promoted the constructions of China-Laos, and China-Mongolia cross-border cooperation zones, supervised the drafting of development plans of these industrial parks and supported the industrial development and the construction of communication facilities in the parks.
We advanced the constructions of the China-Belarus Industrial Park, the Morowali Tsingshan Industrial Park in Indonesia and the China-Tajikistan Industrial Park. We helped enterprises to know about opportunities for industrial cooperation. We built platforms for investment promotion, conducted investment promotion for the cooperation zones in other countries. We encouraged capable Chinese enterprises with rich experience in industrial park administration to join hands with financial institutions, industrial associations, and intermediate agencies to perfect accommodating facilities in these industrial parks, raise the software and hardware levels and enhance services when these parks are in operation.
Fifth, we accelerated the connectivity of information and communications. We ensured the connectivity of information along the Belt and Road, promoted the popularization of next-generation information and communications technological applications and serve the economic and social development of the countries along the Belt and Road.
We accelerated the construction of international communication accesses. We have established an overall framework of international communications access that mainly consists of comprehensive international gateway exchanges, regional international gateways, border area international communications gateways and international channel gateways. We raised the information and communication capacities in countries along the "Belt and Road."
We vigorously promoted the construction of cross-border cables and continuously improved our information interconnectivity with countries along the Belt and Road. We encouraged telecommunication enterprises to form multinational corporations to enhance their internationalized abilities. Some companies have started overseas operations in Pakistan, Thailand, Singapore, among other countries and regions.
As for our next move, the MIIT will continue with our classified guidance, raise services, perfect safeguarding systems, actively expand new room for industrial development, and promote the deepening of industrial cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road to ensure win-win development. Thank you all!
Xi Yanchun:
Let's thank Mr. Xin for his briefing. Now the floor is open for questions. As per our rule, please identify your agency before raising your questions.