China promotes green transportation under BRI

China is actively promoting the sharing of green and low-carbon technologies and experiences in the transportation industry, helping countries participating in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) enhance their capacity to reduce emissions in the sector, while better delivering the benefits of green transportation to people across the world.

Photo taken on Nov. 23, 2022 shows a Fuxing bullet train running on the Yuanjiang bridge of the China-Laos Railway in southwest China's Yunnan Province. (Xinhua/Hu Chao)

China has remained committed to green transportation and environmental protection in terms of transportation infrastructure cooperation, and integrated these concepts into the whole construction process of cooperation projects.

The China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of high-quality BRI cooperation, has become a golden logistics channel. The railway had been operating for 23 months as of Nov. 3. During that period, it handled over 23 million passengers and transported more than 27.8 million tonnes of cargo, including 5.7 million tonnes of cross-border cargo covering BRI partner countries like Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar.

Green was a defining feature of the China-Laos Railway throughout its construction process: route planning, construction management, operation and maintenance.

To minimize disruption to wildlife and damage to vegetation, developers of the railway built bridges and tunnels to bypass forest areas as much as possible.

As the China-Laos Railway crosses areas of the activities of wild Asian elephants, developers set up culverts along the animal’s migration paths, as well as sound barriers and protective fences to minimize the project's impact on the environment.

Sommad Pholsena, vice president of the Lao National Assembly, hailed the China-Laos Railway as a green railway.

A freight train is to leave the China-Europe freight train (Shenyang) marshaling yard in Shenyang, northeast China's Liaoning Province, Sept. 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Qing)

In Africa, during the construction of the new container terminal in Ghana's Tema, China Communications Construction Company Limited established a sea turtle hatchery and released baby turtles into the ocean to protect the vulnerable species. The project has not only injected new impetus into the economic and trade of Ghana and nearby countries but also protected biodiversity.

he Green Silk Road is an important tool that can help us all pull us out of the dead ends of the past and set us on a new pathway that benefits people and planet alike, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

China has also attached great importance to the promotion and application of green, energy-efficient and low-carbon technologies in terms of transportation services under the BRI.

Thanks to advantages such as all-weather operations, large capacity, and great efficiency and convenience, China-Europe freight trains have built a green and low-carbon logistics corridor that promotes connectivity and mutual benefit in BRI partner countries.

Statistics show that the China-Europe freight train service only costs one-fifth of air transportation and takes a quarter of the time required by shipping. The service boasts of high stability, thus remaining a reliable choice for meeting specific logistics needs that prioritize factors such as high value-added services and strict adherence to delivery timelines.

Not only that, the average carbon emissions of China-Europe freight trains is one-fifteenth of air transportation, and one-seventh of land transportation. This plays a positive role in responding to global climate change and achieving sustainable transportation development.

Photo shows the Yangpu Port in south China's Hainan Province. (Photo/Yuan Chen)

Aside from rail transportation, China has emphasized green concepts in sea and air transportation.

Yangpu Port in south China's Hainan Province, sitting at the critical junction of the golden waterway of the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, is one of the ports along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. In recent years, Yangpu Port has made every effort to turn into a green and low-carbon international shipping hub. In May 2023, the Yangpu International Container Terminal was rated as the first "four-star" green port in the Hainan Free Trade Port.

The Zhengzhou Xinzheng International Airport in Zhengzhou, central China's Henan Province is an important hub along the Air Silk Road. In June 2023, a freighter using sustainable aviation fuel provided by China National Aviation Fuel Group Limited for the first time travelled from Zhengzhou to Luxembourg.

China's advanced technologies and successful experiences in new energy vehicles (NEVs) are also part of its achievements in green transportation. The opportunities brought by the BRI have led to exports of the country's NEVs to more markets around the world.

China's exports of NEVs soared 99.1 percent year on year in the first 10 months of 2023, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

Green products, such as NEVs, have gradually replaced traditional cargos of machinery as the main exports of the Chang'an China-Europe freight train service, said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Co., Ltd.

The Chang'an China-Europe freight trains transporting NEVs were launched in September last year, delivering autos of Chinese NEV brands like BYD, NIO and Xpeng to overseas markets.

The past decade witnessed both BRI cooperation and the transformation and upgrading toward the high-end, green and smart development of China's NEV industry, said an executive of the BYD Group.

Chinese NEV companies have also set up factories in BRI partner countries. This has brought advanced technologies to these countries, driven local economic growth and employment, and helped them achieve their green transition and sustainable development.

For example, JAC Motors has set up 15 overseas assembly plants in BRI partner countries. SAIC Motor has established factories in countries like Thailand, Indonesia, and Pakistan, and built over 2,000 overseas marketing and service networks. In September 2022, BYD announced it would build a wholly invested passenger car factory in Thailand, and the plant is expected to start operations in 2024 with an annual capacity of about 150,000 units.