Since the Belt and Road Initiative was put forward, we have adhered to the principles of wide consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits, highlighted pragmatic cooperation, mutual benefit and win-win progress, and continued to deepen investment cooperation with the countries along the routes. In 2016, China's direct investment in the 53 countries along the Belt and Road amounted to 14.53 billion US dollars, accounting for 8.5% of the total over the same period; Chinese enterprises signed 126.03 billion US dollars worth of new engineering contracts with 61 related countries, accounting for 51.6% of the total contractual value of China's overseas contracted projects during the same period with a completed turnover of 75.97 billion US dollars, accounting for 47.7% of the total. Construction of the Pakistan Karakorum Highway II, Karachi Expressway and the China-Laos railway has commenced, while the Turkish East-West high-speed rail and the Hungary-Serbia railway projects are advancing smoothly. These projects have played an important role in improving infrastructure and driving local social and economic development in the countries along the routes.

Investment cooperation projects related with the Belt and Road Initiative, especially some of the infrastructure ones, require large capital input with a long construction period and slow recovery of cost. But in the long run, for the countries along the routes it is of great significance and far-reaching importance in that these projects enhance the level of regional infrastructure connectivity and benefit their peoples. Going forward we will continue to carry out the development of the Belt and Road Initiative, deepen investment cooperation with the countries along the routes, stick to the central role of market-oriented operation, give full play to the main role of the enterprises in project development, promote the delivery of key projects, achieve more early harvests, and better benefit the countries and peoples along the routes.