Chinese government's Belt and Road Initiative offers excellent opportunities for countries to improve their network infrastructure with Chinese investment, said officials and company executives during the ongoing World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.[Special coverage]
The Belt and Road Initiative is a major initiative of the government to conform to the trend of regional and global cooperation and meet the development needs of countries and regions along the line, said Chen Zhaoxiong, vice-ministry of Industry and Information Technology, addressing the opening ceremony of a forum titled "Belt and Road" Information Technology.
"The information and communication network has become an important infrastructure" and "it's of great significance" to discuss "network construction, service and applications, digital economic topics" to further deepen exchanges and cooperation in the flied to promote the construction of the "Belt and Road", he added.
The Belt and Road Initiative goes across 65 countries and regions in three continents, with a total population of 4.4 billion. Most of the countries along the line, however, are developing nations or emerging economies with lagging information and cross-country telecom infrastructure, said Yang Xiaowei, general manager of China Telecommunications Corporation.
He said it's the mission of all Chinese telecom operators to marrow the "gap" with latest technology and make people all around the world able to enjoy the information age.
To fulfill the mission, China Telecom will give priority to building four cross-country high-speed information corridors, including one in Africa, to help countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative to improve the data transmission quality, he said.
With the experience of building the optical cable network in China, he said his company will proactively participate in the construction of a network in Africa continent that will connect 48 countries with a population of 1 billion.
Themed "Network Connection Promotes Heart Connection", the forum will build consensus for development, intensify the communication and cooperation, promote information network interconnected, which is going to build the bridge and links of trade exchanges and cultural communication further.
The forum is one of the 16 forums that are covering 20 hot issues, including internet economy, internet innovation, internet culture, governance in cyberspace and international cooperation on internet, during the third World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province. The summit will last till Friday.
With the theme of "Innovation-driven Internet Development for the Benefit of All -- Building a Community of Common Future in Cyberspace", the conference has attracted 1,600 delegates from 110 countries and regions.
The ambitious Belt and Road Initiative, Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, was launched by President Xi in 2013 to link vast transcontinental swathes with a common economic thread. The initiative brought unprecedented opportunities to companies worldwide to expand their business and access new markets.
