Steady progress and fruitful outcomes of Belt and Road cooperation seen this year: MFA

This year has seen steady progress and fruitful outcomes of Belt and Road cooperation, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Monday.

The first phase of the Lagos Rail Mass Transit's Blue Line is the first electric-powered light rail in West Africa and the largest infrastructure investment project in Lagos State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson (MFA) Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing in Beijing.

The project, now completed, will greatly reduce traffic congestion, ease people's travel, contribute to economic growth, and provide railway construction experience for the rest of Nigeria and other countries in West Africa, Mao said.

China signed Belt and Road cooperation documents with another five countries this year, the spokesperson said, adding that in the first 11 months of this year, China's trade with Belt and Road partners grew by 20.4 percent despite downward trends elsewhere. The number of services and TEUs for cargo shipping of the China-Europe Railway Express rose by 10 percent and 11 percent year-on-year respectively.

Mao mentioned that a large number of signature projects made landmark progress: the first high-speed railway in ASEAN made its trial run; the first expressway in Cambodia is now up and running; and the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia and the Karot Hydropower project in Pakistan were put into operation.

High-quality Belt and Road cooperation has become a new engine of development in various countries and has been warmly welcomed by the people in the participating countries concerned, she added.

"Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of President Xi Jinping's proposal of the Belt and Road Initiative," Mao said, adding that China is ready to work with all parties to take stock of the achievements and draw up a blueprint to make this "belt of development" that benefits the world more prosperous and broaden this "road to happiness" that benefits humanity.