More than 1,000 years ago, porcelains produced in Changsha’s Tongguan Kiln, and dark tea from Yiyang’s Anhua, were delivered through the ancient Silk Road to some Asian, European, and African countries. Today, Hunan gives play to its industrial advantages to carry out a number of cooperation projects in the countries and regions along the modern Belt and Road.

In the Ajmen China Mall in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), more than 90% products are made in China. Hunan products are popular among local customers.

The Ajmen China Mall, invested and constructed by a Hunan enterprise, is Hunan’s first provincial-level economic and trade cooperation park in foreign countries. As of March 10, the upgrade of its first phase is in progress, and new projects of the second phase have been planned. It will be built into a key and representative cooperation project for the Belt and Road Initiative.

Beyond that, a group of projects related to people’s livelihood invested by Hunan enterprises are being implemented, which greatly benefit the locals.

For example, the Hunan Construction Engineering Group and the China Energy Engineering Group (CEEC) Hunan Electric Power Design Institute collaborated to undertake the subcontract of civil engineering and equipment installation of a chemical fertilizer plant in Abu Al Khasib, Iraq. The plant will be capable of producing 800 tons of ammonia and 1,300 tons of urea per day, which will help reduce the dependence on fertilizer import.

The Hunan Industrial Equipment Installation Co., Ltd. participated in the renovation and upgrading of the water distribution network in drought-stricken Djibouti. It provided and installed pipelines to help recover drinking water supply in the country.

The CEEC Hunan Electric Power Design Institute is constructing a steam power plant in Mongolia, which is still chilly in March. The power plant will help solve local heating and energy supply problem in winter.

The Hunan Road and Bridge Group is engaged in extending and upgrading a beautiful coastal highway connecting Kenya’s Mombasa, Mtwapa, and Kilifi, to facilitate local transport.

Hunan’s construction machinery enterprises are highly reputed around the world.

In southwestern Africa, the integrated down-the-hole drill of the Sunward Intelligent is operating in the uranium ore project in Namibia. The project is the largest industrial investment project of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Africa. 

As of January 2021, Hunan’s construction machinery enterprises have set up 68 overseas branches in the Belt and Road countries. Zoomlion, Sany, and Sunward Intelligent are going global at an accelerated pace.

In 2021, Hunan increased 380-million-USD investment in the Belt and Road countries, and achieved a turnover of 1.6 billion USD in project contracting.

Seven Hunan-based enterprises have gained 9 certifications for foreign-aid project consultation, in the front rank nationwide. Fifty-three online foreign-aid trainings were provided, taking the lead in the country. The “Hunan Enterprises Going Abroad +” Comprehensive Service Platform has made fruitful performance in serving the foreign trade enterprises.

This article is from Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn