BEIJING, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- Cooperation between China and countries along the Belt and Road in energy sector has yielded fruitful results since China proposed the Belt and Road Initiative three years ago.
--B&R brings opportunities for energy cooperation
The Belt and Road construction, covering 65 countries in Eurasia and population of 4.4 billion, involves total economic volume of 21 trillion U.S. dollars. The five major goals, namely policy coordination, facilities connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration, and people-to-people linkages promoted by the Belt and Road Initiative, have innovated the pattern for regional cooperation. This has also brought opportunities for international energy cooperation.
The action plan on the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative puts up to promote cooperation in connectivity of energy infrastructure, work together to ensure the security of oil and gas pipelines and other transport routes, build cross-border power supply networks and power-transmission routes, and cooperate in regional power grid upgrading and transformation.
It also addressed to increase cooperation in the exploration and development ofcoal, oil, gas, metal minerals and other conventional energy resources, advance cooperation in hydropower, nuclear power, wind power, solar power, and other clean, renewable energy sources, and promote cooperation in the processing and conversion of energy and resources at or near places where they are exploited, so as to create an integrated industrial chain of energy and resource cooperation.
Under the guideline, countries along the Belt and Road have explored cooperation opportunities in their mutually complementary energy resources. China's advanced power generation and transmission technology and equipment has founded great potential in developing countries along the Belt and Road, while joint effort in oil and gas pipelines construction in Central Asia and Russian areas has helped to forge stronger alliance fo rsecured energy supply.
Energy cooperation would help guarantee stable energy supply and maintain stable energy prices when economic size grows bigger and transmission accessibility becomes stronger, said Long Guoqiang, deputy head of the Development Research Center of the State Council, at an energy think tank forum held in Beijing on Dec. 11.
--Fruitful results yielded in energy cooperation
In the past three years, China has seen increasing export of its technologies and services in energy frastructure construction in countries and regions along the Belt and Road. From October of 2013 till June of 2016, China has contracted more than 40 projects in construction of power plants, power transmission, and oil and gas transmission in about 19 countries along the Belt and Road, which included 16 projects contracted in the first half of 2016.
In power industry, power generation, power grid and renewable energy have been defined as prioritized sectors for regional cooperation as highlighted in the Joint Statement on Production Capacity Cooperation Among Lancang-Mekong Countries released in this March.
As China's largest power grid operator, State Grid Corporation has contracted construction of national backbone power grid projects in Ethiopia, Poland, Myanmar, Laos, and Pakistan, boosted exports of China's electrice quipment to more than 70 countries even including European countries such as Germany. It has also built 10 cross-national power transmission lines from China to Russia, Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan, etc. and advanced its power grid investment layout and renewable energy development in Africa.
Meanwhile, China has established nuclear cooperation with Russia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Iran, and U.K., introducing Chinese independent 3rd generation nuclear technology,Hualong One, to go abroad.
In oil and gas industry, the rich oil and gas resources in Central Asia and Russiarightly are sources to feed China's energy shortage, and thus Chinese oil companies launched a bunch of oil and gas exploration and pipeline construction projects in these areas, which have become iconic projects under the Belt and Road construction.
In January of 2016, Sinopec's Yenbo refinery in Saudi Arabia entered commercial run, which has been China's largest investment in the country.
Meanwhile, construction of China-Russia crude oil and natural gas pipeline via Mongolia has been put on agenda in the development plan for China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor in this September. Line II of China-Russia crude oil pipelines kickedoff construction in August of 2016.
The D Line of China-Central Asia natural gas pipeline, designed to have an annual transmission capacity of 30 billion cubic meters, is expected to finish construction by the end of 2016. The D line, which runs through Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, will joint A, B, C lines in Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to form the largest gas transmission in Central Asia with total annual transmission capacity of 85 billion cubic meters.
--Risks reminded for Chinese enterprises
Challenges and risks have emerged with the implementation of Belt and Road Initiative. Belt and Road construction is long-term cooperation, and therefore the concept of equal and mutually-benefiting cooperation should not be born in mind, said Long Guoqiang.
Meanwhile Chinese "going-abroad" enterprise should unite instead of internal virulent competing, and prevent risks caused by religions and culture in countries alongthe Belt and Road, noted Long. Enditem (Edited by Li Xiaohui, lixh@xinhua.org)
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