Growing Along with the Silk Road

WrittenbyZhenZhenZhang,WenjunMa,JieLiuandYiboPeng

TranslatedbyFangNing

InAugust2016,thefirst8techniciansfromSouthAfricacametotheheadquartersofYOFCinWuhantoreceiveaone-monthtraining.

Thoughweliveindifferentlands,thesamemoonandskymakeusone.

Twomillenniaago,onegenerationofpioneersafteranotherbravedendlesssandsandtreacherouswaves,openingapreludetodialoguebetweenEasternandWesterncivilizations.

Today,thesoundofcamelbellsonthenewSilkRoadsignifiesnotonlynewbusinessopportunitiesbutalsoabridgeforcloserpeople-to-peopleties,withseedsfromChinablossomingandbearingfruitworldwide.

Morethan200localresidentsarenowemployedbyHumanwellPharmaceuticalEthiopiaPLC.

UndertheguidanceoftheBeltandRoadInitiative(BRI),enterprisesinWuhan,Chinaaremakinggreatstridesingoingglobal.Theyhaveinvestedandbuiltfactoriesoverseas,trainingalargenumberofpersonnelforlocalareaswhileboostingtheireconomy.

Recently,amultimediajournalistfromHubeiDailylistenedviavideolinktothestoriesofforeignemployeesfromChineseenterprisesgoingglobal.Fromtechnologynovicestobusinessbackbones,fromshyintrovertstoconfidentandsunnypersons,theseemployeeshaveforgedtieswiththecityofWuhanduetotheBRIandwrotechapterafterchapterofsplendidlifestoriesastheyseizetheopportunitiespresentedbythisinitiative.

TheirlifetrajectorieshavebeenchangedbytheBRI.

DemekeLuleonlyknewtesttubesandbeakersbeforejoiningtheHumanwellPharmaceuticalEthiopiaPLC.StudyingunderqualifiedChineseworkers,thisEthiopianchemistrygraduatequicklygrewintoaqualitydepartmentexecutivemanager,contributingtotheproductionofavarietyofmedicineswidelyusedinEthiopia.

VelileMngonyama,ProductionManageroftheYangtzeOpticsAfrica(YOA)Cable(Pty)Ltd.,previouslyworkedatalocalcablefactorywithaveragepay.InAugust2016,hetraveledtoWuhan,wherehelearnedtheopticalcablemanufacturingprocessfromscratch.Thecompany’sgeneroussalaryandbonuseshaveallowedhimtopurchaseanewhouseinrecentyearstolivetogetherwithhismotherandsisterandtosendhistwosonstoqualityprimaryschools.

Theyhaverealizedtheirself-worththroughtheBRI.

Ivo,fromBulgaria,isagraduateoftheHuazhongUniversityofScienceandTechnology.Hehasbeendiligentlylearningtherapidlyevolvinglasertechnology,representingtheHuagongTechnologyIndustryCo.,Ltd.(HGTECH)toventureintotheEuropeanmarket.Insixyears,theonceshyboynextdoorhasemergedasthebusinessleaderforBulgariaandGreeceandlearnedtoviewtheworldthroughthelensofothercultures.

Raisedinasingle-parentfamily,RayanNaluawasveryintrovertedandfeltinferiorduringhisstudentdays.However,heisnowtheteamleaderofFiberhomePhilippinesInc.andcanshoulderresponsibilitiesalone.Thesmallcompanyhejoined,whichinitiallyconsistedofonlythreepeople,hasmadeinformationservicesaccessibletomillionsofhouseholdsacrossthePhilippinesviaopticalfibers.

TheyhavesharedacommondreambecauseoftheBRI.

KristianKumpumäkifromSwedenisaprofessionaltranslatoratTransn.HeisfascinatedbytheextensiveandprofoundChineseculture,frommythologicalstoriessuchasJourneytotheWesttolocalcuisines,Chinesemusic,aswellascustomsandtraditions.HehasaspiredtoshowcaseandexplaintotheworldtheChineseinsightsthatdrivethedevelopmentofhumancivilizationthroughhistranslations.

TheconfidentandopenWuhan,whichismovingfastertobuilditselfintoapacesetterininlandopeningupinthenewera,iscontinuouslyattractingglobalattentionanddemonstratingtotheworldthevigorandvitalityofaheroiccity.

In1988,atthebeginningoftheYangtzeOpticalFibreandCableJointStockLimitedCompany(YOFC),morethan30ChineseemployeeswenttotheNetherlandsfortraining,bringingbackadvancedtechnologyandconcepts.

In2023,79Wuhanenterprisescarriedoutdirectinvestmentsin26countries(regions)aroundtheworld.Itisnotuncommontoseeforeignpersonnelinseniorexecutivepositionswithintheseenterprises.

Handinhand,wehavewitnessedtherobustandfruitfulBeltandRoadcooperationinitsfirstdecade.Fullofconfidence,wewillembarkonanewjourneytowardanothergoldendecade.Againstthebackdropoftheunfoldingglobalizationlandscape,moreandmoredreamchasershavesetouttoexplorethenewSilkRoad.