An Industry View of the 'Belt and Road' Initiative

China's "Belt and Road" initiative is a major strategic initiative aimed at fostering trade and infrastructure development. China Nonferrous Metal Industry's Foreign Engineering and Construction Co.，Ltd (NFC)，as a large-scale enterprise engaged in contract engineering and consulting contracting and development of non-ferrous metals resources，is in a unique position to play a role in this program. It has more than two decades of experience operating beyond China's borders，earning a reputation as a reliable builder of roads，bridges and power plants and exploring and exploiting mineral resources.

Wang Hongqian，president and director，maintains that NFC's success in the international market is due to its ability to deliver on its promises of "win-win" style cooperation. The company executive says NFC lives up to its motto of "doing business together，carrying out construction together and sharing information." In the following interview with China Forex，the executive discusses the company's experience in the international market and how this is being applied under the "Belt and Road" Initiative.

China Forex: It has been more than three years since the "Belt and Road" initiative was rolled out. In your view，what significance has it had for more than 60 countries that are included in this program? What has been the response from these countries?

Wang Hongqian: The "Belt and Road" initiative has long-term strategic significance that has already provided tangible benefits to a large number of countries. In general，it promotes mutual trust and development. It supports practical cooperation that contributes to sustainable economic growth. Our experience over the last three years has demonstrated that countries in the areas covered by the program are gradually shifting from a "wait-and-see" attitude to one of gradual acceptance and active participation. Undoubtedly，the level of acceptance varies considerably from country to country.

China's economic development has direct and indirect effects on its neighbors. The "Belt and Road" initiative is a way to help solve financial problems related to infrastructure development and allow these countries to turn their resources into economic advantages. It promotes economic globalization and embraces openness and inclusiveness despite pressures from a trend towards protectionism. Additionally，it increases the understanding of China and Chinese culture.

China Forex: Since the 1990s，NFC has been working on expanding its presence in overseas markets. The "Belt and Road" initiative dovetails nicely with these efforts. Could you give us an idea of what preparations have gone into the effort to expand your presence abroad?

Wang Hongqian: At present，China's non-ferrous metals industry is competitive in smelting，but it has limited capacity in mining. China's domestic resources are insufficient to meet the government's target of doubling capacity by 2020. China therefore must look outwards in order to reach this goal.

There are two principles in the initiative for the company and they are to deepen cooperation with neighboring countries and make use of complementary strengths. There are two advantages of the "Belt and Road" initiative and they are geography as well as cultural affinity. The latter is quite important as in many cases we share a common language or customs and cuisine or values. Therefore，countries included in this initiative generally offer a favorable environment for our operations. The "Belt and Road" initiative is a carefully constructed strategy that is also very pragmatic. The facts show that our past choices of markets for our foreign operations have generally been in line with the "Belt and Road" initiative of today.

Before we launched our own drive under the "Belt and Road" initiative，we had been exploring international cooperation with companies in more than 20 countries and regions included in this strategic program. NFC therefore had a first mover advantage and was able to benefit from government support very quickly.

China Forex: What new opportunities can the initiative bring to the development of NFC? What achievements have you made so far?

Wang Hongqian: NFC actively pursues opportunities under the "Belt and Road" initiative. In 2015，the company's income from international engineering contracting rose more than 80% and related gross profit increased over 60%. In production cooperation，NFC was not supplying surplus or obsolete products and equipment. It supplied its most advanced products and services，and that showed it was taking its responsibilities as a business partner seriously. Chinese enterprises have a good track record in the international arena，and their technology and equipment have been widely accepted. Chinese companies have made a contribution to economic and social development in many parts of the world.

China Forex: Cooperation in production is an important way to realize potential from the "Belt and Road" initiative. What kinds of experience can NFC bring to the initiative?

Wang Hongqian: NFC's experience in cooperative production is consistent with the core values of the "Belt and Road" initiative. The key is ensuring that we stay true to attaining our "win-win" objective. International cooperation cannot be just a one-way benefit.

The advantage of this cooperative win-win concept is that under the guidance of national policy，NFC can make full use of the friendly relations between China and its foreign partners. In recent years，NFC has strengthened its ties with Kazakhstan，Mongolia，Iran，India，Vietnam，Egypt and other countries by adhering to this "win-win" principle in non-ferrous metals，petrochemicals and other areas.

NFC began its international cooperation in production with Iran in the 1990s. For more than 20 years，NFC has helped Iran lay the foundation for its non-ferrous metals industry. Instead of viewing the country as an export market for its equipment，NFC has helped Iran build up its domestic industry. Despite Western sanctions，Iranians have seen some stability in their lives. The NFC brand has also won recognition from the Iranian government and industry.

Kazakhstan was where some of the initial efforts under the "Belt and Road" initiative were made，and it is uniquely suited to NFC. Kazakhstan has resources and NFC has technology，equipment and financial resources. These are complementary advantages. As early as in 2005，NFC，as a general contractor，built an electrolytic aluminum plant in Kazakhstan. The Kazakhstan project was the country's first in aluminum production，and our participation in this project has been an effective calling card for us. The NFC arm in Kazakhstan is now the country's biggest engineering contractor and it pla