Reporters learned at a State Council Information Office press conference on the 27th that since the "Belt and Road" Initiative was proposed five years ago, as of June 2018, China's cumulative goods trade volume with countries along the routes has exceeded $5 trillion; the total investment in overseas economic and trade cooperation zones built in countries along the routes has reached $28.9 billion, creating 244,000 local jobs and more than $2 billion in tax revenue. China has become the largest trading partner of 25 countries along the routes.
Trade exchanges have continued to expand. Over the past five years, China's total goods trade with countries along the routes has exceeded $5 trillion, with an average annual growth of 1.1%.
Investment cooperation has continued to deepen. Over the past five years, China's direct investment in countries along the routes has grown by an average of 7.2% annually, and the value of newly signed overseas contracted engineering contracts in countries along the routes has exceeded $500 billion.
Major projects have taken root. The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has been completed and opened to traffic, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway has opened for operation, and the China-Thailand Railway and others have started construction……
The construction of economic and trade zones has advanced steadily. Over the past five years, Chinese enterprises have built a total of 82 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in countries along the routes, with 3,995 enterprises settling in the zones.
The free trade network has continued to expand. China has signed or upgraded five free trade agreements with 13 countries along the routes, and a high-standard free trade network based on neighboring countries, covering the "Belt and Road," and oriented toward the world is taking shape at an accelerated pace.