STORY: Belt and Road Initiative: Blazing a path of happiness
DATELINE: Oct. 15, 2023
LENGTH: 00:06:45
LOCATION: Beijing
CATEGORY: POLITICS/ECONOMY

STORYLINE:

SOUNDBITE 1 (Chinese): XI JINPING, Chinese President
This year is the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative I proposed. The ultimate purpose and goal of this initiative is to explore new ways for countries from near and far to achieve common development, and to blaze a "path of happiness" to the benefit of all countries and the world at large.

Belt and Road Initiative: Blazing a path of happiness

Mwanza Region, Tanzania

Mwanza, the second largest city in Tanzania, is located on the southern shores of Lake Victoria, the largest lake in Africa.

However, due to a lack of proper water supply and purification facilities, residents here had long struggled to get access to consistent water supply, while many suffered from frequent health issues.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): KELVIN KITURUKA, Engineer, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)
"Most of the locals depend on fishing from the Lake Victoria. But as time goes on, with the pollution and garbage in this lake,  even the water is not safe."

30-year-old Kelvin Kituruka, a native of the Mwanza Region, lived a distance away from the lake. He knew well how hard it was to get clean water.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): KELVIN KITURUKA, Engineer, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)
"All the water supply, the previous was not good. The people who are far from the shores of the lake, the water was not easy to get."

In 2017, the company Kituruka works for, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC), undertook a water supply project in the Mwanza Region.

The project, launched under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), was completed two years later.

SOUNDBITE 4 (English): KELVIN KITURUKA, Engineer, China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC)
"The water project has benefited so much, which brought with the clean and treated (water). I am proud and I love what I'm doing so that I can get people to live a very good and better life."

Since the water project was put into operation in Nov. 2019, it has benefited around 150,000 residents in the region.

The cost of water usage has been lowered to 1/5 of its previous amount.
The CCECC has so far built 7 water plants and 1 sewage plant in Tanzania.

Not only benefiting individuals, the BRI is also infusing impetus of development for industries.

Vientiane, Laos

In the suburbs of the Lao capital Vientiane, an industrial zone was jointly developed by a Chinese company and the Vientiane government. The Saysettha Development Zone is a major cooperation project between China and Laos under the BRI.

SOUNDBITE 5 (Lao): KHIENGKHAM PHOUTCHANTHAVONGSA, Deputy General Manager of Lao-China Joint Venture Investment Co., Ltd.
"The Saysettha Development Zone nearly shares the same age as the Belt and Road Initiative. So far, it has been 10 years."

However, due to poor infrastructure in the land-locked country, the development zone once encountered bottlenecks.

SOUNDBITE 6 (Lao): KHIENGKHAM PHOUTCHANTHAVONGSA, Deputy General Manager of Lao-China Joint Venture Investment Co., Ltd.
"Logistics costs were high. Back then, the land and sea routes were the only choices for logistics."

In 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with Lao leaders, made a major decision to jointly build the China-Laos Railway.

China and Laos have made concerted efforts and cooperated closely, and completed construction tasks with high quality.

Real changes came, after the launch of the China-Laos Railway in 2021.

It's a docking project between the BRI and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith jointly witnessed the opening of the China-Laos Railway via video link.

Dec. 3, 2021
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Laotian counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith jointly witnessed the opening of the China-Laos Railway via video link

Benefiting from transport convenience, the Saysettha Development Zone has entered a fast lane of growth.

SOUNDBITE 7 (Lao): KHIENGKHAM PHOUTCHANTHAVONGSA, Deputy General Manager of Lao-China Joint Venture Investment Co., Ltd.
"The most substantial change brought about by the China-Laos Railway is the improvement of logistics efficiency. Currently, the integration of maritime, land, and rail transport has significantly boosted efficiency and greatly reduced costs."

So far 130 companies from nine countries and regions have joined the development zone, with 6,000 staff members.

Upon completion, the development zone could offer more than 10,000 jobs.

SOUNDBITE 8 (Lao): KHIENGKHAM PHOUTCHANTHAVONGSA, Deputy General Manager of Lao-China Joint Venture Investment Co., Ltd.
"The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy that drives trade and investment, fostering a pathway for people around the world to collaborate and jointly work for prosperity, abundance and happiness."

The pathway to happiness, could also bring fresh looks to an entire city.

Cairo, Egypt

SOUNDBITE 9 (English): MUHAMMED EL TANTAWY, Senior civil site engineer of Iconic Tower project in Egypt
"Before we didn't have any roads here when we started five years (ago), but now all of the roads have been finished 100 percent."

32-year-old Egyptian engineer Muhammed El Tantawy has witnessed how a new city has risen from a desert over the past five years.

Located some 50 km east of the Egyptian capital Cairo, the central business district (CBD) of Egypt's new administrative capital project is taking shape.

Jan. 21, 2016  Cairo, Egypt
President Xi attended a grand welcome ceremony outside
Quba Palace hosted by Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi

Jan. 21, 2016 Cairo, Egypt
President Xi held talks with President al-Sisi

The flagship project of the BRI was initiated in 2016. During a visit to Egypt, President Xi said that China was willing to participate in Egypt's key projects including the construction of a new administrative capital.

At the construction site, the 385-meter-high Iconic Tower will be the tallest building in Africa once completed. Tantawy, one of the first engineers to join the project, initially felt uncertain.

SOUNDBITE 10 (English): MUHAMMED EL TANTAWY, Senior civil site engineer of Iconic Tower project in Egypt
"It was the first time for me working with Chinese engineers, so I thought I would have some difficulties. But when I started working, I found it was easy for me to work with them, the Chinese engineers. We continued working day by day and year by year."

The project has gradually attracted many local talents.

The CBD project has employed 16,000 workers and engineers, including 12,000 Egyptians.

SOUNDBITE 11 (English): MUHAMMED EL TANTAWY, Senior civil site engineer of Iconic Tower project in Egypt
"After finishing this project, it will increase investments in Egypt.
I was very proud to build something like this in Egypt. And now my family and all of my friends are also proud of me to make something like this."

SOUNDBITE 12 (Arabic): MOSTAFA MADBOULY, Egyptian Prime Minister
"The project is undoubtedly a miracle. It will not only be a landmark in Egypt, but also a symbol of Egypt's modernization."

Since President Xi proposed the BRI in 2013, China has signed more than 200 cooperation documents with more than 150 countries and over 30 international organizations.

It has generated nearly a trillion U.S. dollars in investment, established over 3,000 cooperation projects, created some 420,000 jobs, and helped lift nearly 40 million people out of poverty.

SOUNDBITE 13 (Chinese): XI JINPING, Chinese President
"The Belt and Road Initiative is a public road open to all, not a private path owned by one single party. Belt and Road cooperation pursues development, aims at mutual benefits, and conveys a message of hope."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Beijing.
(XHTV)