Feature: Air Silk Road connects dreams and hearts

This aerial photo taken in June, 2022 shows an airport in Angola constructed by the China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corporation (CAIEC), an international engineering segment under AVIC INTL. (AVIC INTL/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Kiplagat Kenneth Kiptoo, a young man from Kenya, took a flight in May for east China's Hangzhou city, where he would pursue a bachelor's degree in intelligent manufacturing.

The 29-year-old Kenyan gained a scholarship as a winner in the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC), a vocational skills training and competition program sponsored by AVIC INTL, a company under the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).

The program has provided training to participants from 10 African countries in fields such as machining, computer numerical control, steel and concrete.

Echoing the Belt and Road Initiative, the AVIC started the Air Silk Road project in 2017. ATC is part of the project.

AVIC INTL is playing roles in building projects with high standards, sustainability and benefits to people's livelihoods in countries along the Belt and Road.

The company joins hands with global partners to cultivate local technical talents, serve air transport with Chinese airplanes, and build modern aviation infrastructure to boost connectivity along the Belt and Road, serving livelihoods and connecting people's hearts.

BENEFITING PEOPLE

Transportation infrastructure is of considerable importance to the Belt and Road, connecting people and facilitating exchanges and communication. AVIC INTL sees this sector as one of its key priorities in cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road route.

As the international engineering segment under AVIC INTL, the China National Aero-technology International Engineering Corporation (CAIEC) has involved itself in over 300 projects in about 20 countries along the route. These projects include airports, aviation maintenance facilities, air cargo facilities and expressways.

"Such livelihood projects sustain connectivity and meet demands from these countries. We made the best effort to use local personnel and materials to serve local needs," said Liu Hongguang, the CAIEC president.

Around 90 percent of engineering personnel involved in these projects are local staff. All raw materials, semi-finished products and machinery that can be purchased and leased locally are from local suppliers, according to Liu.

"China's technologies and solutions support these countries to enhance infrastructure technologies, upgrade industries such as air transport and tourism, and create employment for local people," Liu said.

This file photo shows Kiplagat kenneth Kiptoo displaying his certificate of participation of the Africa Tech Challenge (ATC), a vocational skills training and competition program sponsored by AVIC INTL, in Kakamega County, Kenya, Sept. 1, 2015. (AVIC INTL/Handout via Xinhua)

FULFILLING DREAMS

Kiplagat values the opportunity to study in China and realize his dream of becoming an engineer.

"Since I arrived in China, I have learned of diverse Chinese cultures, breathtaking heritage sites, mega infrastructure, and great engineering projects. These make China a beautiful country to live and study in," he said.

Supported by the ATC scholarship, five participants have secured master's degrees, and seven are studying in China for bachelor's degrees.

"During our cooperation with African countries, we have learned that the unemployment rate in some countries is high and that skilled workers are in short supply," said Qian Rong, chairman of the AVIC-INTL Project Engineering Company (AVIC-INTL Project).

Besides the ATC program, the AVIC-INTL Project has cooperated with local authorities in launching or upgrading more than 180 vocational institutes in Kenya, Ghana and other African countries, which train about 20,000 teaching staff and students annually.

Vocational training opens doors for local youth to gain professional competence in their careers and unlocks possibilities for reaching their dreams.

"It will surely be an exciting experience! I have finally come to the country which produces those robots and intelligent machines I used in Kenya, and I am so curious about how China makes them," said Kiplagat.

"It was an amazing experience joining in the ATC, receiving training and winning a scholarship. After the study in China, I may become an engineer or a teacher to share knowledge with more young people," he said.