Belt and Road is expanding markets and drivinggrowth

(CHINADAILY) Withmorethantwoyearsofdevelopment,theBeltandRoadInitiativehasprovedtobeapracticaltoolfordrivingthegrowthofbothChineseandglobalcompanies,saidbusinessleaders.

Theinitiative,proposedbytheChinesegovernmentin2013,envisagesaSilkRoadEconomicBeltanda21stCenturyMaritimeSilkRoadcoveringabout4.4billionpeopleinmorethan60countriesandregionsinAsia,AfricaandEurope.

KlemensBrunner,seniorvice-presidentofLumiledsAutomotiveLighting,aSino-Dutchjointventure,saidhiscompanyhasincreaseditsexportstomarketssuchasIndonesia,IndiaandThailandfromitsplantsinShanghaiandHubeiprovince.ItalsoplanstoshipproductsfromtheseplantstoEuropeanmarkets.

LumiledsrepresentstheformerLEDcomponentsandautomotivelightingbusinessunitoftheNetherlands-basedcompanyRoyalPhilips.AconsortiumledbyChina'sGOScaleCapitalacquiredan80.1percentstakeintheunitin2015.Philipsretainstheremaining19.9percentequity.

"Ifyoulookattheworld'smarketenvironment,theBeltandRoadInitiativeisagreatopportunitytoenlargeoursaleschannels,"saidBrunner."ItwillnotonlyboostthesizeoftheautomobilemarketinChina,butalsohelpshipmoreproductstovariousdestinationsthroughouttheworld."

Thecompanyplanstoexpandcapacityandacceleratethelocalizationofitsautomobilelightingproductswiththeseplants.Ithasoperationsinmorethan30countriesandhasabout8,300employeesworldwide.

Eagertodiversifytheirsaleschannels,multinationalssuchasMaerskLine,Siemens,DHL,UPS,Volkswagen,Samsung,AirLiquideandBridgestonehaveeitherdeployedresourcesinChinaorformednewpartnershipswithChinesecompaniestoenhancetheirmarketpresenceineconomiesalongthetwotradingroutes.

"Somecountriesalongtheroutes,suchasGermany,France,SingaporeandMalaysia,alreadyhavebetterinfrastructureandindustrialfoundationstofueltheirgrowth.Butforsomeoftheothers,developinginfrastructureandserviceremainscrucial,"saidGeXiangyang,aninvestmentlawyerattheBeijingofficeofHongKong-basedgloballawfirmMayerBrownJSM.

HisfirmalsoformedapartnershiplastyearwithJingtian&GongchengAttorneysatLaw,headquarteredinBeijing,toassistChinesecompaniestocarryoutmergersandacquisitionsalongtheroutes,especiallyinAfrica.

Thankstotheinitiative,Chinasofarhasestablished75overseaseconomicandtradecooperationzonesin35countriesandregions,accordingtotheMinistryofCommerce.