The Belt and Road Initiative, proposed by China in 2013, aims at building a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient trade routes of the Silk Road to seek common development and prosperity.
Let's take a look at some key figures about the initiative.
The Belt & Road Brand Expo in Shanghai, June 30, 2018. [Photo/IC]
China has signed cooperative documents with 126 countries and 29 international organizations.
People look at a new China-Europe freight train from Chengdu to Vienna at the Vienna South Freight Center in Vienna, Austria, on April 27, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]
The China-Europe freight trains, connecting China with 50 cities in 15 countries, carried out more than 14,000 trips by the end of March.
The wharf operated by COSCO Shipping in Zeebrugge, Belgium, Sept 18, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]
The goods trade volume between China and countries involved in the initiative surpassed $6 trillion from 2013 to 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 4 percent.
Beijing prepares to welcome the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. [Photo/IC]
Chinese companies' direct investment in countries involved in the initiative surpassed $90 trillion from 2013 to 2018, with an average annual growth rate of 5.2 percent.
An employee counts bank notes at at a bank in Nantong city, East China's Jiangsu province, July 24, 2018. [Photo/IC]
China has signed currency swap agreements with more than 20 countries involved in the initiative and established renminbi clearing arrangements with seven countries.
After graduating from university in 2018, Leah Uwihoreye founded an e-commerce platform in Rwanda, helping women survivors of Rwandan genocide sell handmade accessories. [Photo/IC]
Silk Road e-commerce is becoming a new channel for economic and trade cooperation between countries. China has established the bilateral e-commerce cooperation mechanism with 17 countries.
File photo shows a part of the Kigamboni Bridge constructed by a Chinese joint venture is seen in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, on April 19, 2016. [Photo/Xinhua]
The total value of new foreign contracts signed with countries involved in the initiative surpassed $600 billion, with an average annual growth rate of 11.9 percent.
Ethiopian attendants jump at the Lebu station of the Chinese-built Ethio-Djibouti Railway in Addis Ababa, capital of Ethiopia, Jan 1, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]
So far, the overseas economic and trade cooperation zones Chinese enterprises have built in countries involved in the initiative have created about 300,000 local jobs, with total investment of more than $30 billion.
Dunhuang is best known for the nearby Mogao Grottoes, and home to the Crescent Lake and Singing-sand Mountain.[Photo/Xinhua]
By the end of 2018, China Export & Credit Insurance Corp realized total insurance amount of more than $600 billion in countries involved in the initiative.
