The Belt and Road Can Move Far with Stability, Engineering Technology Can Make Great Progress in the Process

By Li Xiaohong, the People’s Daily

The Belt and Road Can Move Far with Stability, Engineering Technology Can Make Great Progress in the Process

By Li Xiaohong, the People’s Daily

The construction of the Belt and Road is rooted in the historical soil of the Silk Road, and running through two thousand-year civilizations still shines brightly. Joint building of the Belt and Road is a continuity of the ancient Silk Road spirit, bearing the common development aspirations of peoples of various countries.

President Xi Jinping points out that engineering science and technology are the engine to promote human progress and the powerful lever for industrial revolution, economic development and social progress. A new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is forming a historic intersection with development of human society. Engineering scientific and technological progress and innovation are becoming an important engine to promote development of human society.

Over past 6 years since proposal, the Belt and Road Initiative has received positive support from more than 100 countries and international organizations in the world. Flying in the air, exploring on land and getting cross sea, engineering science and technology support the survey, design, construction and operation of transportation infrastructure such as railways, highways, ports and airports along the Belt and Road, having solved many complicated technical problems, boosted the economic development of various countries, and played an active role in helping the countries along the routes to share the fruits of development, and building community with a shared future for development by sharing weal and woe. China’s independent R&D rail-tracks automatically changing technology fully supports the interconnection and interoperability of the railways with different tracks along the routes. From the Tianjing class to Tiankun class, China's dredging heavy vehicle sails for a long voyage to provide a comprehensive support for the dredging of channels and reclamation of sea in countries along the routes. China's information and communication technology supports the construction of land-sea cables and backbone networks in 12 countries along the routes, and helps to lay 34 cross-border land cables and 6 sea cables. The BeiDou system covers more than 30 countries and regions along the routes, and is widely used in social and livelihood fields such as transportation, land planning, intensive cultivation of agriculture and others. The exploration and development technology for oil and gas fields on land, power generation technology and ultra-high voltage transmission and transformation technology get effectively docked with that in more than 30 countries along the routes. Russia's crude oil successfully enters the second line of the Sino-Russian crude oil pipeline through the first stop -- Mohe station -- of China Petroleum Pipeline Corporation, which is an important project and exemplary achievement that China Petroleum promotes the Belt and Road Initiative to be landed, and consolidates Sino-Russian energy cooperation. This project is becoming an innovative business card in the history of China's pipeline construction. Extensive and profound traditional Chinese medicine spreads to 183 countries and regions, 113 countries recognizes the use of acupuncture and moxibustion. The special and advantageous techniques in the field of engineering science and technology are recognized by countries along the routes.

Today's world is experiencing unprecedented changes unseen in a century, and mankind is also in an era of endless challenges and increasing risks. The construction of the Belt and Road is spanning different regions, different stages of development and different civilizations. The countries along the routes are in different stages of industrialization, with different levels of economic development and different natural endowments. Many global problems such as food insufficiency, resources shortage, energy shortage, environmental pollution and disease plague, are also serious challenges faced by various countries along the routes. Various countries are interrelated, interdependent, and share weal and woe globally, so the idea of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.

In the era trend of peace, development, cooperation and win-win results, promoting scientific and technological innovation of engineering and sharing scientific and technological achievements of engineering are important ways to respond tocommon challenges, promote common development and advance common prosperity.

As an honorary and advisory academic institution, China's Academy of Engineering now cooperates with 32 countries along the Belt and Road, and has built a basic framework of international engineering cooperation in science and technology for the Belt and Road. Currently, about 100 academicians of the Academy participate in the studies of the Belt and Road construction, and contribute wisdom and strength to play the supporting role of engineering science and technology. The Chinese Academy of Engineering will join hands with the Chinese engineering and technological circles to give full play to the role of the national high end think tanks and the national strategic and technological forces, give full play to the advantages of cross disciplines and the collective intelligence superiority of the academicians, and cooperate with the relevant countries in the construction of the Belt and Road to tackle scientific and technological difficulties of major projects, and promote cultivation of engineering talents, strengthen cultural exchanges in engineering so as to promote mutually recognized and integrated engineering technology standards.

We need to take advantage of the trend and the opportunity to ensure the engineering science and technology in the Belt and Road construction to become promising and play a bigger and stronger role in supporting its development. We will not only connect sky, connect land, integrate sea, but also ensure closer people-to-people ties and boost the Belt and Road to become the road of innovation, so that the Belt and Road will benefit various countries along the routes. May the engineering works for mankind welfare, and science and technology for the future.

—— Supporting transportation links. We will continue to give full play to China's advantages in the construction of railway, highway, sea and air transport infrastructure, jointly promote the construction of international backbone channels, promote national plans docking and standards docking along the routes, and focus on pushing the interconnectivity and interoperability of land, sea and air comprehensive transport. We should break through the technological bottlenecks in the construction of the Belt and Road infrastructure, such as complex environmental and geological conditions, marine disaster prevention and control and ecological environment protection along the maritime Silk Road so as to support the Belt and Road infrastructure construction to develop in a direction of high quality, high standard, and high level.

—— Ensuring energy security. We will continue to give full play to our technological advantages in conventional oil and gas, coal and electricity, hydropower, new energy development and long-distance large-scale transmission, strengthen the interconnection and interoperability of energy infrastructure, promote construction of transnational energy channels, and actively promote cooperation in investment and construction of power grids across countries along the routes. We will strengthen technological research and development of marine engineering, high-end power equipment, large-scale development and utilization of renewable energy, multi-energy complementarity and energy comprehensive utilization, and promote and improve energy security of the respective countries along the routes.

—— Ensuring food security. In view of the resources endowments of various countries, we should promote the research and development of new crop varieties adapted to local environment and climate, promote the popularization and application of new crop varieties cultivation and green yield-increasing and efficiency-increasing technology, livestock and poultry healthy breeding technology, agricultural machinery technology, and processing and sustainable development technology, accelerate the transformation of agricultural development mode, and improve the regional and respective countries food security.

—— Promoting construction of the Digital Silk Road. We will continue to give full play to China's advantages in information infrastructure and equipment manufacturing, upgrade the level of international communication interconnectivity and interoperability, improve the cyber quality and security, and enhance the availability and affordability of the Internet in countries along the routes. Promoting the application of big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and the construction of smart cities, promoting the development and construction of 5G and next generation Internet in the underdeveloped countries along the routes, and narrowing the digital gap. We will build the Belt and Road space information corridor with complete set of facilities and efficient services, improve the information service capabilities of land, sea, air and space networks, and promote the BeiDou system to provide continuous, stable, accurate, reliable and full coverage services for the countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

—— Promoting the construction of ecology. To promote the demonstration, application and popularization of advanced technology and equipment in the fields of ecological environmental monitoring, environmental pollution prevention, solid waste disposal and others, and promote the implementation of major demonstration projects for the protection and restoration of important ecosystems, and speed up the construction of the Belt and Road smart environment network and the big data platform for ecological environment, and improve the efficiency and level of ecological environment management in countries along the routes so as to fully support the construction of the green Belt and Road and jointly achieve the goal of sustainable development 2030.

—— Improving medical services. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has multiple attributes of Humanities and medical science. Promoting the international flow of knowledge, resources, technology and other elements of Chinese medicine, and promotes the application and dissemination of TCM health service methods and technologies in the countries and regions along the routes. Promoting the construction of international standard system of the TCM, further enhancing the international recognition of the TCM, and promoting people-to-people ties of countries along the routes with the TCM as the carrier. We will promote joint prevention and control of major infectious diseases and chronic non-communicable diseases, provide medical assistance and emergency medical assistance to relevant countries, and enhance our ability to cope with public health emergencies jointly.

Throughout the millennium, the Silk Road Spirit adheres to openness and cooperation, condensing development and consensus, and bearing the common aspirations of peoples of various countries. May we work together with countries and regions along the routes to play a symphony of a magnificent community with a shared future for human kind!

(Edited excerpts of the article in People's Daily 6 May 2019)

African railways built with Chinese technology are in smooth operation along the Belt and Road routes.