Lender uses expertise to boost bilateral trade among BRI nations

While over two million passengers in Kenya have traveled by the Mombasa-Nairobi railway, the line has also enabled the travel of countless wild animals through 600 culverts, 61 bridges and 14 passages specially built for the purpose.

Moreover, construction procedures of the railway were flexibly adjusted to accommodate living habits and rest hours of wild animals, according to the Export-Import Bank of China (CEXIM), the lender that has provided financing support for the project.

Such efforts mirror the bank's commitment to helping Kenya and other economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve green, sustainable development.

As the State-owned policy bank dedicated to facilitating China's international economic cooperation, the CEXIM has played an important role in providing financial services needed by the BRI since the initiative was proposed by China in 2013.

At present, the bank has carried out more than 1,800 projects under the initiative with outstanding loans worth of over 1 trillion yuan ($149.17 billion). Under the projects, the bank has strictly complied with green finance standards and received supervisions from local and international environmental protection bodies, it said.

Also, the bank has tilted its credit resources towards fields that can help the countries become greener, such as new energy and renewable resources.

Besides green development, the bank has also attached great importance in helping the involved economies maintain debt sustainability, said Zhang Chenxu, deputy general manager of the bank's sovereign business department (concessional loan department).

"We believe the ultimate guarantee to debt sustainability is the sustainability of economic development," said Zhang.

Therefore, Zhang said the bank has worked with local governments to jointly select projects with good return prospects and long-lasting benefits on economic development, especially in the areas of infrastructure connectivity as well as energy and resources.

For instance, the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, which started operations in 2017, has helped Kenya to lower logistics costs by 40 percent and created 46,000 jobs for local residents, Zhang said.

The bank has also leveraged its expertise to boost trade and investment of the involved economies, by providing financing for not only trade between China and other involved economies, but the economies' purchase of trade facilitation equipment and the construction of trade ports.

"The vast majority of the more than 1,800 projects we have carried out under the BRI have achieved expected results as well as economic and social benefits," said Zhang Qingsong, president and vice chairman of the CEXIM.

The allegations that the BRI is dragging some participating economies into a "debt trap" is not right, he said, adding that it (BRI) has actually helped promote economic development in these regions.

On the other hand, it is also a reminder for the bank to push ahead with high-quality development of the BRI, he said.

This year, the CEXIM will optimize financial support for key projects of the involved economies, with infrastructure connectivity and capacity cooperation as the focus.

Moreover, the bank said it will beef up cooperation with other financial institutions to jointly support the BRI projects and provide more green finance products.

State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said at a news conference that the BRI is not a debt trap for participating economies, but a platform for cooperation.

Wang also announced that 37 heads of states or governments will attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation to be held in Beijing from Thursday to Saturday this week.

The forum, with "Belt and Road Cooperation: Shaping a Brighter Shared Future" as its theme, aims to bring about high-quality cooperation under the initiative, Wang said.