An official said Friday that China’s economic and commercial connections with nations along the Belt and Road have greatly improved over the last decade.

“Despite the long-running COVID-19 pandemic and the complex international situation, the Belt and Road Initiative’s construction continues to show strong resilience and vitality, injecting strong impetus into global openness and cooperation and world economic recovery,” Sheng Qiuping, vice minister of commerce, said at a press conference.

Between 2013 and 2021, the yearly trade volume between China and nations along the Belt and Road increased by 73 percent, from 1.04 trillion to 1.8 trillion dollars, according to Sheng.

During this time, China invested 161.3 billion dollars in countries along the Belt and Road, and these nations launched 32,000 businesses in China, totaling 71.2 billion dollars in investment, according to Sheng.
During that time, China inked new contracts worth around $1.08 trillion with countries along the Belt and Road for engineering projects in transportation, power, and other fields, he added.

According to Wang Lingjun, deputy chairman of the General Administration of Customs, China’s imports and exports with nations along the Belt and Road increased 15.4% year on year to 3.97 trillion yuan (approximately $588 billion), 7.5 percentage points more than the entire growth of China’s global commerce.