CCTV:
Director Ning, as China’s railway has become a name card of the country’s “going-out” strategy in recent years, would you please brief us on railway cooperation between China and the countries along the Belt and Road? Thank you.
Ning Jizhe:
Your question is about a very important issue of major concern to us and other countries. Railway cooperation can help improve railway construction capacities both in China and other countries, boost cooperation on railway equipment, technologies and standards. It is a key part of international cooperation on industrial capacities and a priority area for China’s “going-out” strategy as well as outbound investment.
China’s railway construction has developed rapidly during recent years and we have the most fully-fledged technical system in the world. We possess cutting-edge technologies, especially in high-speed railways, and have foster advantages in survey, design, engineering, manufacturing, operation, management and safety, making us very competitive on the global market.
China has been proactively pressing ahead with railway cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road. Such cooperation dovetails nicely with the needs of those countries, since connectivity among countries along the proposed routes is realized by the connection of traffic networks. Railway is a favored transport means. It is wanted by neighboring countries or needs renovating in those countries due to outdated conditions.
Recently, we have made solid progress on several landmark projects. The railway between China and Laos is under construction; a contract has been signed for the Jakarta-Bandung Railway, and hopefully overall construction will start soon; the China-Thailand Railway is preparing for construction; the business contract of the Serbian section of the Hungary-Serbia Railway has been signed, while the construction agreement of the Hungarian section has also been validated; the design for a high-speed railway from Moscow to Kazan has been completed; the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway is moving ahead now we have a joint working mechanism between the three parties; the feasibility study for upgrading the ML1 section of the Pakistan Railway is being studied; and Chinese companies have succeeded in their bids for involvement in the constructions of railways in the southern part and the east coast of Malaysia, etc. The smooth progress of railway construction has been pivotal for the promotion of international cooperation on production capacities, signaling an important chapter for the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, conducive to the B&R countries’ upgraded capacities for infrastructure construction and helpful to China’s “going-global” strategy by exporting indigenous facilities, technologies, standards, constructions and management, resulting in encouraging progress in other industries and boosting infrastructure construction of the relevant countries.
For the next step, China’s Development and Reform Commission will work with relevant departments, enterprises and institutions under the initiative to enhance pragmatic cooperation on railway with countries along the Belt and Road, advance China’s “going-out” strategy and international industrial cooperation and boost connectivity in pursuit of win-win benefits through joint development. Thanks for your question.