Financial connectivity supports infrastructure projects worldwide

China Development Bank, a State-funded and State-owned development finance institution dedicated to supporting national economic development in key industries and underdeveloped sectors, has paved the way for the high-quality cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative over the past decade.

Since 2013, the BRI has achieved substantial results in becoming a key platform for international cooperation. CDB, with financial connectivity as a focus, has played a crucial role in serving the stable and long-term development of the BRI through efforts such as funding infrastructure construction, helping establish rules and standards and improving people's well-being. As of the end of September, CDB has supported more than 1,300 Belt and Road projects, with a total investment of over $280 billion.

Advancing major initiatives

During the opening ceremony of the first Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2017, China announced CDB's special lending scheme involving 250 billion yuan ($34.25 billion) to support infrastructure construction, improve production capacity and boost financial cooperation under the BRI. In the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in 2019, China pledged to extend its role in providing special loans for projects under the BRI.

CDB has set up a special lending scheme for the BRI to pool resources to increase financing support for BRI cooperation. By fully implementing the Responsible Financing in Common Principles and the Belt and Road Green Investment Principles, the financial group has incorporated green standards, environmental and climate risks into its overseas investment and financing assessment and decision-making processes, strengthened project cash flow and risk management, and provided higher-quality financial services under the BRI.

As of the end of September, the cumulative contract signings for the BRI special loans had reached 533.3 billion yuan, with the amount of disbursed loans achieving 491.5 billion yuan. With the support of special loans, a number of projects in infrastructure, financial cooperation, people's livelihoods and environmental protection have made significant progress while promoting local economic and social development and achieving win-win results for China and other participants in the initiative.

Over the past decade, CDB has consistently upheld a global perspective, followed the spirit of major diplomatic events such as the China-Central Asia Summit and Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, and established a variety of high-quality complementary financing initiatives. For example, CDB established a 10 billion yuan special loan for China-Central Asia cooperation to enhance project cooperation between China and five Central Asian countries in areas such as trade, investment, transportation, agriculture, energy resources and infrastructure.

It has also established a $5 billion special fund dedicated to advancing the implementation of global development initiatives. During the first High-Level Conference of the Forum on Global Action for Shared Development held in July in Beijing, CDB signed a memorandum of cooperation with the China International Development Cooperation Agency, focusing on such areas as poverty reduction, climate change and green development, and providing financial support for projects related to global development.

Leveraging synergy with its subsidiary, the China-Africa Development Fund, CDB helps Chinese companies invest in Africa in a market-oriented manner, actively serving the implementation of initiatives such as the Ten Cooperation Plans, Eight Major Actions and Nine Major Projects under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. As of the end of September, the China-Africa Development Fund has invested more than $6.8 billion in 39 African countries, mobilizing about $31 billion in Chinese investments and financing on the continent.