At the port of Gwadar in southwest Pakistan, Afchad runs a 30-square-meter Chinese convenience store. Dry noodles, sauces, and cans are stacked at the corner, and various snacks are displayed in glass cabinet, including spicy tofu cooked gluten, a popular Chinese specialty food.[Special coverage]
A lot of Afchad's clients are Chinese, who are the builders of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a cooperation program under the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013. Thanks to the project, Gwadar, once a costal fishing town, has now been drawing investors in flocks.
The implementation of the initiative has brought significant changes for the daily life of Afchad and other people in Gwadar.
FROM QUERYING TO CHASING
For those who live in Kantone, a small village in Myanmar, long-awaited electricity has become a reality, due to a copper mine project facilitated by the Belt and Road Initiative.
"We watch TV everyday; we have air conditioners. These were completely unimaginable in the past," said Pu Maung, a local resident.
However, villagers were not cooperative at the beginning.
The Letpadaung copper mine project in Monywa, Myanmar, was launched in 2012 by China's Wanbao Mining Copper Ltd. Its construction had been repeatedly interrupted by protests from some local people dissatisfied with the land takeovers and concerned over potential environmental impact.
Wanbao made great efforts to win over the local people's understanding and support, sooth concerns, solve problems and offer a series of measures benefiting their livelihood. The copper mine was finally put into operation in March 2016.
Now, all the 33 villages near the site of the copper mine, no matter relocated or not, have electricity. This is not usual in Myanmar, where frequent blackouts occur due to a lack of electricity, even in big cities.
In order to help villagers overcome poverty, the Chinese company also taught them job skills, and provided start-up capital for some villagers to set up brick factories, cement plants, chicken farms and trailer teams.
Wanbao has also hired a mobile medical team from Yangon to provide medical services to the local communities.
In recent years, villagers have seen their income significantly increased and medical services and infrastructure greatly improved. Those who used to oppose the Letpadaung project now compete to work for it. A position at the copper mine may attract as many as 100 applicants.
FROM SURVIVAL TO PROSPERITY
"Thanks" has been the word repeated many times by Pablo Cordova during his chat with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Nov. 18, 2016.
"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. President for your country's aid to Ecuador," the 52-year-old told Xi at the ECU-911 headquarters in Quito.
A year ago, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake hit the South American country and killed more than 600 people, marking it the worst in 70 years.
The quake flattened the hotel where Cordova worked in Portoviejo, a city in the western Manabi province. He had been trapped under debris for 46 hours before being rescued thanks to an ECU-911 call.
The nationwide ECU-911 system, constructed by a subsidiary of China Electronics Corp., is a relief command center in response to disasters. But in daily life, it works as a security network as well. Currently, there are 16 ECU-911 centers across the country.
