CDB plays active role in boosting Belt, Road

Enhancing well-being

As a development finance institution, CDB operates in a market-oriented manner, acting as a bridge between the government and the market and actively supporting the construction of key projects under the BRI. As such, empowering infrastructure connectivity to consolidate the foundation of economic and social development is a top priority.

The China-Europe Railway Express, known as the "steel camel caravan" connecting Asia and Europe, has become an important choice for land transportation logistics among countries and regions involved in the BRI, and CDB has assisted in enhancing the railway's infrastructure capabilities. This includes upgrading and expanding bottleneck sections along the domestic routes, constructing key port stations and promoting the continuous improvement of the domestic route network. CDB also offers financial products such as special loans for foreign trade and international logistics to help the operators of China-Europe Railway Express routes, contributing to a steady increase in freight transport capacity.

Promoting green finance and practicing responsible financing are other CDB priorities. For instance, in Chile, as one of the outcomes of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, CDB provided credit to Banco Security, which was used to finance nine solar power projects, adding a total installed capacity of 46.9 megawatts.

In Pakistan, CDB participated in financing the Karot hydropower station, which celebrated its one-year anniversary of safe operation in June. It has generated a cumulative total of 3.64 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity, equivalent to saving about 1.59 million tons of standard coal and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 3.98 million metric tons. In Thailand, CDB provided financing support for Bangkok's first waste-to-energy project with a daily incineration capacity of 500 tons of household waste.

To enhance the public well-being of the Belt and Road countries, CDB has funded a number of "small yet smart" projects.

In Africa, CDB provided $300 million in credit to the National Bank of Egypt and fully disbursed it. This has benefited 49 key projects in various areas including the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and infrastructure construction. Of the total, $200 million was allocated to "small yet smart" projects that benefit people's livelihoods in fields such as food processing, healthcare, education and services.

Over the past decade, CDB has helped launch a number of key projects such as the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway in Indonesia, Argentina's Belgrano Freight Railway Phase I restoration, Laos' Vientiane to Vang Vieng Expressway and Kazakhstan's Shymkent Refinery upgrade and transformation.

In addition, progress has been accelerated in projects related to small and medium-sized enterprises, healthcare, agriculture and education, further enhancing the independent development capabilities of partner countries while providing strong support for deepening mutually beneficial cooperation between China and other countries.

CDB has utilized various means such as think tanks, planning and exchange research seminars to promote the establishment of "soft connectivity" for rules and standards in the Belt and Road cooperation, facilitate cultural exchanges and boost mutual learning between China and other participating countries. The company said it will continue to grasp the opportunities of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, coordinate development and security, cultivate new momentum for financial connectivity and provide first-class financial services to support the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.