Reporter Lin Zihan.
The Addis Ababa Riverside Green Development Project is a Chinese-funded project that includes the improvement of urban waterways and the construction of parks and other public facilities around the rivers. The picture shows local children playing in the children's playground of the Addis Ababa Riverbank Green Development Project. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ping.
Maintain bridges and solve residents' travel problems;Dig deep wells to meet the drinking water needs of villagers;Install street lights to illuminate the ...... pedestrians returning home at nightAs the Belt and Road Initiative opens a new phase of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, a number of "small but beautiful" projects are becoming a priority for foreign cooperation. These projects cover the fields of public health, green development, science and technology education, culture and art, and health care, which are grounded, benefit people's livelihood, and gather people's hearts, effectively improving the living conditions of local people, and have been widely recognized by the international community.
Focus on people's livelihood needs.
Foreign media have paid attention to the fact that a number of small-scale "small but beautiful" projects focusing on people's livelihood and community needs are taking root in the "Belt and Road" countries to help local people solve their urgent needs.
An epidemic surveillance site brings good news to the local epidemic prevention and control site. In November, residents of Pemba Island in Zanzibar, Tanzania, attended the inauguration of China's first schistosomiasis surveillance site in Zanzibar, according to the All-Africa News Network. This surveillance site has been effective in helping to prevent and control schistosomiasis in the local area and has been welcomed by the local population and **. Through surveillance, diagnosis and data reporting, surveillance sites provide disease prevention and control services to the population, helping to reduce the incidence and risk of transmission of schistosomiasis, as well as improving the understanding of the epidemiology associated with schistosomiasis.
A fleet of backup generators to "light up" medical facilities in remote areas. According to South African Independent News, South African rural health clinics recently received backup generators from China. South Africa's Minister of Electricity, Kossienjo Ramokopa, said that with this batch of standby generators, medical facilities in remote and rural areas will not be affected by power outages anytime soon, even if the country's power company reduces loads. According to the report, China** provided 552 alternative energy equipment to South Africa through state-owned enterprises, including generators, power supply vehicles and off-grid photovoltaic energy storage power supply systems, to help mitigate the impact of power load shedding on public facilities such as schools and hospitals. During the 15th BRICS Summit in August this year, South Africa also signed a memorandum of cooperation with a number of Chinese entities to provide development assistance to South Africa to alleviate the energy crisis.
A drinking water treatment plant to provide safe drinking water for local people. According to the Latin American News Agency, El Salvador's National Water Authority recently announced that the construction of a Chinese-aided water treatment plant will begin on Lake Ilopango. With a total investment of US$40 million and a three-year construction period, the project was designed, built and supervised by China's Hebei Construction Engineering Group and a municipal engineering agency. The project will benefit seven municipalities in southern San Salvador and will improve drinking water for more than 250,000 people**. At the same time, China is also promoting a number of projects to help build El Salvador, including the construction of a modern national stadium that can accommodate more than 50,000 spectators, and the construction of the stadium has also recently begun, according to the report.
The importance of small-scale infrastructure cannot be underestimated. Marco Lambantini, special envoy of the World Wide Society for Nature and co-chair of the Belt and Road Green Development International Alliance, said recently that China's investment in building small and medium-sized infrastructure in the "Belt and Road" countries can have an important impact on the economy and society of underdeveloped regions and promote local sustainable development, which is a new trend worthy of attention in the process of building the "Belt and Road".
Improve people's livelihood and well-being.
The livelihood projects of "small but beautiful" and "beneficial and practical" have gradually been implemented, bringing good social benefits to the countries of the "Belt and Road" co-construction.
Not long ago, in the heart of San Salvador, the capital of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele** inaugurated a tall and spacious library, according to Agence France-Presse. This 7-storey building funded by China has a total area of 2With a collection capacity of more than 360,000 volumes, it has the functions of youth learning Xi entertainment, art exhibitions, theatrical performances, academic conferences, etc., with a robot area and interactive digital facilities, and will be open to the public 24 hours a day. Bukele said that the library built with China's assistance is "the most modern library in Latin America" and has created a high-quality environment for the educational development of children and youth.
A number of Indonesian ** companies such as the Antara News Agency recently reported on a pipe pile factory. In September this year, a large-scale pipe pile plant invested and built by Zhejiang Geotechnical Company in Indonesia, China, was put into operation. The pipe pile plant is located in Demak District, Semarang, Central Java Province, Indonesia, with an annual production capacity of 1.5 million meters of pipe piles. The raw materials used in the pipe pile factory are mainly from local top suppliers, and the localization rate has reached 70%. At the same time, the pipe pile factory has provided jobs for 240 graduates of vocational schools or tertiary institutions in Central Java.
According to EFE, Nicaragua** recently delivered 250 buses purchased from China to local bus companies. So far, the total number of Chinese buses purchased in the country has reached 500. Laureano Ortega Murillo, Advisor to Investment, International Cooperation and International Cooperation in Nicaragua, said the buses are expected to improve the strengthening of public transport in the Nicaraguan capital. Nicaragua** will purchase a total of 1,500 buses from China to modernize its public transport fleet.
In the process of promoting the Belt and Road Initiative, smaller, more targeted projects are emerging, involving a wide range of fields. According to a recent report by Wall Street, more and more "technology stations" named after Lu Ban, an outstanding craftsman in ancient China, are located across Africa and Asia, teaching technical courses, including robotics, to help the Belt and Road countries train technical experts who understand advanced technology.
Create new opportunities for cooperation.
As the Belt and Road countries give full play to their respective advantages and expand areas of cooperation, positive progress has been made in "small but beautiful" projects in digital economy and green development.
According to the Latin American News Agency, a few days ago, the Sino-Cuban e-commerce platform Dofimall was unveiled in Havana, Cuba. As part of the China-Latin America Industrial Park (CEROAM) project, the e-commerce platform allows for the establishment of inter-business links and the display of Chinese-made products, including industrial and agricultural equipment and machinery, as well as automobiles, hardware, furniture, textiles and leather, as well as a platform for Cuban goods. Based on e-commerce technology, logistics and financial services, the project will not only bring economic benefits to Cuba, but also bring new opportunities for exchanges and cooperation between China and Cuba, so that the people of the two countries can share the benefits.
In September this year, China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced the implementation of the "African Light Belt" project, which plans to give full play to the advantages of China's photovoltaic industry and help tens of thousands of poor families in Africa solve the problem of electric lighting through the cooperation in the construction of "photovoltaic +" projects. Mandy Ramhallos, vice president of global climate cooperation at the Environmental Defense Fund, said that compared with large-scale investment and construction projects that are difficult, time-consuming and difficult to implement, such small-scale projects can address the needs of remote areas in African countries in a targeted manner, and are expected to be quickly implemented, promoted and implemented with financial support and the approval of local communities.
China's Lancang-Mekong Springs, Initiative provides safe drinking water to people in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar, highlighting China's ecological contributions, Pakistan Today reported. China's investment in drilling has also become a vital lifeline for Africa's water-scarce regions, where access to clean and safe drinking water remains a constant challenge for many people. From 2012 to 2021, China funded the construction of 1,000 wells in Zimbabwe, benefiting more than 400,000 people in Zimbabwe. The Belt and Road Initiative advocates the promotion of the Green Silk Road, demonstrating a forward-looking commitment to sustainable development, environmental protection and global cooperation.
Australia's Lowy Institute** recently issued a document saying that the Belt and Road Initiative will continue to promote the construction of transportation infrastructure and logistics corridors, and at the same time, the "small but beautiful" project and the promotion of green development of the "Belt and Road" will become the focus. The third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in November this year launched a green development investment and financing partnership, demonstrating that technology and artificial intelligence are key topics in the future. The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has seen new trends, which will provide more refined services to participants.