Business leaders in Fujian province across sectors ranging from shipbuilding to ceramics have voiced their approval for the Belt and Road Initiative in recent years.

The consensus has been that the initiative, launched in 2013, has provided ample opportunities to seek out new business internationally, and helped Chinese companies become more globalized to achieve long-term growth.

Fujian Mawei Shipbuilding, one of the biggest shipbuilders in the province, has reported strong increases in its order book in recent years.

"Taking advantage of the BRI, we have seen an increase in the number of overseas clients," said company Chairman Li Zhenjun.

Li revealed that Mawei Shipbuilding has delivered more than 50 ships since 2013, of which more than 30 orders came from countries and regions involved the in the BRI.

"That number will increase further in the next few years," Li said.

From Li's perspective, the significance of the BRI is far more than creating more business opportunities for Mawei Shipbuilding.

"More importantly, the BRI allows us to strengthen ties with foreign partners to work collaboratively, to promote innovation and in business transformation," Li said.

Earlier this year, Mawei Shipbuilding launched a deep sea mining vessel capable of working at a depth of 2,500 meters. The company said a lot of the vessel's designs and application of equipment were used for the first time in China. The 227-meter-long, 40m-wide vessel will provide living and working space for 200 people and can store up to 39,000 metric tons of ore, according to the company.

Wang Haozhao, a design project manager with Mawei Shipbuilding, said the vessel is the outcome of sharing cross-border technology.

"The mining robots are from the United Kingdom, the deep-sea lifting systems are from the United States, the mine processing systems are from China's Sichuan province and the vessel was designed by a team from Singapore," Wang said.

"We were responsible for assembling those technologies to build the final product."

Mawei Shipbuilding is not the only businesses reaping benefits from the BRI.

Dehua county in central Fujian province is making a name for itself in ceramic production. More than 100,000 villagers out of 330,000 in the county work in the sector. About 80 percent of Dehua's products are shipped abroad to more than 190 countries and regions, according to the local authority.

Statistics from the Dehua government show that in the first five months of this year, more than 90 companies expanded their ceramics business to 39 Belt and Road economies. The total export volume exceeded $13.4 million, a 41 percent increase year-on-year.

"An increasing number of businesses are taking advantage of the BRI," said Zheng Pengfei, general manager of Shunmei Group in Dehua.

The company is a ceramics designer and manufacturer for global corporations including Disney, Walmart, and Coca-Cola. Its products are exported to more than 80 countries and regions around the world.

"Right now in Dehua, the ceramics industry has become more globalized with opportunities brought about by the BRI," Zheng said.

Closer collaboration between companies from Fujian and the Belt and Road economies have also provided port operators in Fujian with business openings.

Xiamen Port, which handled more than 10 million containers over the past year, moved up the ranks yet again to become the 14th biggest container port in the world, according to local officials.

The port operates 149 international routes, of which 53 are linked with 38 ports in 18 countries involved in the BRI.

Xiamen Port has also paid close attention to expanding its cruise liner routes to countries and regions taking part in the BRI.

"Xiamen Port plans to open a total of 15 cruise routes related to the BRI this year, which are expected to carry about 60,000 tourists," said Chen Zhiping, chairman of Xiamen Port Holding Group.

"The port will put routes to the BRI economies high on the agenda, with an aim of building it into a transportation hub helping the development of the BRI," he added.

Zhang Haijun, head of the cruise business at Xiamen International Cruise Home Port, revealed that eight cruises to countries and regions involved in the BRI in the second half of this year have been fully booked.

Looking ahead, Chen said Xiamen Port will continue to develop vigorously.

He said it would develop its container and bulk cargo handling capacity, modern logistics, the port's cruise services and financial services - as well as improve connections between the port and the Sino-Europe Express Railway services that start from Xiamen - to support Fujian's role as the "core area" of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.