中文 | Español

Home > China-LAC Relations
Macao IIICF examines digital and green infrastructure development
China Daily
2023-06-01 23:44

Digital and green infrastructure could be focuses of upgrading global cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative in the new era to achieve sustainable development, according to an international forum in Macao on Thursday.

Bearing the theme of "Green Leadership, Digital Intelligence, Financial Empowerment, Win-Win Co-operation", the 14th International Infrastructure Investment and Construction Forum (IIICF) is held from June 1-2 at the at the Venetian Macao Cotai Expo in Macao.

At the opening ceremony, Guo Tingting, vice-minister of commerce mentioned that this year is the 10-year anniversary of the BRI, which has made huge contribution to infrastructure development and connectivity, and connecting people's hearts of various countries. She said digital development has created new opportunities for international infrastructure cooperation, but as the world has entered a new period of turbulence and change, which has also brought new challenges to global infrastructure development.

She said digital economy has become a new engine to promote economic growth, and digital infrastructure has become an important driving force for innovation and development, and China is willing to work with all parties to deepen digital infrastructure cooperation, injecting new vitality into interconnectivity, a core element of the Belt and Road Initiative since its launch ten years ago.

"We have signed memorandums of understanding (MOU) with relevant departments of different countries to strengthen international investment cooperation, especially with the developing countries, to achieve the inclusive development of digital infrastructure."

Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, said within the framework of the "Vision 2050" long-term development policy adopted by the State Great Khural (Parliament) in 2020, the Mongolian government pursues a series of activities aimed at enhancing the socio-economic and human developments, setting up a new technology and innovation based knowledge added sector of the economy.

A different set of measures have successfully been undertaken for constantly upgrading readiness of information and communication technology and capacity of its infrastructure, forming up the legal environment for digitalization, and reinvigorating transparency to implement the digital transition in a phased but continued manner, he said.

Amarsaikhan noted public information systems are "pillars of the digital transition". He added that the Mongolia has established the Ministry of Digital Development and Communication, and would be more than pleased to collaborate in green leading, digital intelligence driven finance for the sake of mutually beneficial cooperation in infrastructure development.

Mike Elton Mposha, Zambia's Minister of Water Development and Sanitation, noted that the Zambian government's intention to ensure that we foster economic growth and development while safeguarding natural assets in order to continue to provide the resources and environmental sustainability on which our well-being relies.

Within the context of sustainable development goals and our national vision 2030, Zambia employs strategies that ensure that natural assets can deliver their full economic potential on a sustainable basis.

Ding Yanzhang, chairman of the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), said digital technology is the leading force of the world's scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, and the digitalization and intelligent upgrading represented by smart facilities and intelligent construction technologies have injected new impetus into the development of the infrastructure industry.

PowerChina regards digital transformation as one of the core strategies of the company's development, he added.

Dai Hegen, chairman of the board of the China National Chemical Engineering Group Co Ltd, said that promoting green and low-carbon economic and social development is a key component to achieving high-quality development. "While infrastructure provides important support for economic and social development and meets people's needs for a better life, it also brings great pressure to the ecological environment," he said.

According to him, new energy and new materials are crucial to improve the green index of infrastructure, and they have become advantages in achieving sustainable development.

Lou Qiliang, president of the CRRC Corporation Limited, said that rail transport is an important focus of infrastructure construction. "CRRC is an important participant, practitioner and promoter of global rail transport. For a long time, we have been committed to the high-end, intelligent and green development of rail transit equipment manufacturing industry," he said.

"Especially in recent years, with the acceleration of ecological civilization construction and the accelerated development of digital economy, we have carefully planned and promoted digital transformation and business model innovation to help promote the high-quality development of global rail transit."

Launching ceremony of BRI index reports

This year's forum saw two BRI reports released: the Report on the Belt and Road Infrastructure Development Index (2023) and the first ever Report on Portuguese-speaking Countries' Infrastructure Development Index and Macao's Achievements in Belt and Road Initiative (2023). Fang Qiuchen, chairman of the China International Contractors Association, and Wang Wen, Chief Economist of China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation are the officiating guests of the launching ceremony.

The two reports aim to more accurately reflect the new international trends of the BRI and highlight the role of the Macao SAR as a platform connecting China and Portuguese-speaking Countries.

It has been six years since the Belt and Road Infrastructure Development Index was first released in 2017. Over the period, the infrastructure cooperation of BRI continues to heat up, according to Fang. So far, China has signed over 200 BRI cooperation papers with 151 countries and 32 international organizations. "With the world's evolving and changing political and economic situation, the hotspot regions and key areas of international infrastructure cooperation have also adjusted or shifted," Fang said.

He added that it is thus important to accurately reflect the current international infrastructure development situation, and at the same time highlight the platform characteristics of the IIICF as emphasizing "the infrastructure development in Portuguese-speaking countries".

At a keynote forum titled "Dialogue with Senior Management-Green Orientation, Financial Innovation Empowers Sustainable Development of International Infrastructure", Jonathan Muga, Global Head of Infrastructure Sector, Client Coverage of Standard Bank Group, said that infrastructure carries risks of emissions, local environmental and social impacts and as long-lived assets, infrastructure is particularly impacted by the effects of climate change.

"So we partner with our clients to encourage the adoption of socially and environmentally sustainable practices in infrastructure," he said.

For example, sustainable transport and logistics systems in Africa includes an increasing trend of integrated logistics to optimize the use of all transport modes and to encourage a shift from the heavy use of road to rail as a primary inland transport mode. This incidentally offers significant ESG benefits – which can reduce external costs by up to 75 percent, he said.

Latin American cooperation seen as promising

Latin American economies are another focus of the IIICF. Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Minister of Works and Transport Rohan Sinanan, said the republic progresses toward achieving economic, social, and environmental transformation guided by its Vision 2030, a comprehensive national development strategy.

A key focus of this vision is to enhance productivity by investing in high-quality infrastructure and efficient transportation systems, ultimately making a significant and positive impact on the well-being of its citizens. In this context, the fruitful partnership between the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and China "has played a pivotal role in successfully implementing crucial projects thus far while promoting cooperation in sustainable development," Sinanan said.

Nicaraguan Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Óscar Salvador Mojica Obregón said, as a major country in innovation, infrastructure and science and technology, China is committed to mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean to promote economic recovery. Under the new international order through CELAC, which includes 33 countries, China's BRI continues to promote cooperation in infrastructure, science and technology innovation.

The BRI, which actively promotes trade, investment and infrastructure development through economic corridors and sea routes, is currently joined by 21 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, he added.

Professor Alessandro Golombiewski Teixeira at School of Public Policy & Management of Tsinghua University said in recent years, Latin America's cooperation in infrastructure has grown exponentially, and Chinese companies have undertaken projects worth over $160 billion in Latin America. "As we continue to develop and expand our partnerships, we must also focus on paving the path towards a more sustainable and digitally advanced future," he said.

Green transformation, as a concept, is more than an environmental initiative, and China has always advocated for a green and low-carbon economy, Teixeira said, citing the China-LAC Joint Wind Farm Project in northern Chile as a hallmark of our sustainable collaborations. This project, when completed, will generate over 200MW of clean, renewable energy, enough to power over 150,000 households. More importantly, it will significantly reduce carbon emissions, equivalent to removing more than 90,000 cars from the road each year.

The event, which serves as a platform for the global infrastructure industry to explore opportunities for co-operation on sustainable development, is co-organized by the China International Contractors Association and the Macao Trade and Investment Promotion Institute.

This year's IIICF is drawing more than 3,000 guests, more than doubling the figure in 2022, including ministerial-level officials, senior executives of financial institutions, international contractors, organizations, business associations and supply chain enterprises.

Florence Li in Macao contributed to this report.


Suggest to a friend:   
Print