Over the last decade, the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has yield fruitful achievements and greatly enriched China-Africa relations. As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal of BRI, Global Times reporters Liu Xin and Xing Xiaojing (GT) interviewed Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Zhou Pingjian (Zhou) and Chinese Ambassador to Madagascar GuoXiaomei (Guo), to learn about their views on the BRI’s achievements in the two African countries and their expectations for future cooperation.
GT: In recent years, China and Madagascar have achieved fruitful results in friendly cooperation in various fields, benefiting both peoples. What do you think the biggest achievements and highlights of China and Madagascar in jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) are?
Guo: In March 2017, the heads of state of China and Madagascar witnessed the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on jointly promoting the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Madagascar became one of the earliest African countries to sign a cooperation document on the BRI with China. Since then, the two countries have continuously achieved fruitful results in jointly building the BRI, benefiting both peoples.
First, it has added new impetus to friendly exchanges between the two countries. There have been frequent high-level interactions between the two countries. Second, the BRI has yielded abundant results in bilateral economic and trade cooperation. The initiative effectively connects with Madagascar’s “Initiative Emergence Madagascar (IEM)” and “Plan for the Emergence of Madagascar,” promoting the comprehensive development of bilateral economic and trade cooperation.
The scale of bilateral trade has grown rapidly. According to Chinese customs statistics, the bilateral trade volume reached $2.08 billion in 2022, an increase of 68.56 percent compared with 2017, with an average annual growth rate of over 10 percent. Among them, Madagascar’s imports from China reached $1.455 billion, an increase of 44.49 percent compared with 2017, with an average annual growth rate of 7.6 percent. Madagascar’s exports to China reached $625 million, an increase of 175.33 percent compared with 2017, with an average annual growth rate of over 20 percent.
Moreover, Chinese enterprises have become increasingly active in investing in Madagascar. Since 2017, Chinese-funded enterprises have initiated 16 new investment projects in Madagascar. Currently, there are more than 30 Chinese enterprises in Madagascar, mainly engaged in public works, manufacturing, agriculture, fisheries, telecommunications, hotels, and catering services. These enterprises have made positive contributions to employment, training, and industrial upgrading in Madagascar, promoting the economic and social development of Madagascar and achieving mutual benefit and win-win results.
Third, China’s support for Madagascar’s infrastructure construction has increased. China has carried out financing cooperation with Madagascar to support the construction of infrastructure in areas such as roads, electricity, and communications, enhancing the driving force for Madagascar’s economic development. Projects such as the Ivato-Tsarasaotra Road to the Ivato International Airport, the expressway linking the Ivato International Airport and the Boulevard de l’Europe, the rehabilitation of RN5A, the modernization of communication networks, and Ranomafana hydroelectric power plant have all benefited from Chinese financing.
Fourth, the amount of engineering contracts undertaken by Chinese enterprises has significantly increased. In 2022, Chinese enterprises signed new contracts for projects in Madagascar worth $480 million, an increase of 47.2 percent compared with 2017, with an average annual growth rate of 8 percent; the completed turnover was $320 million, 2.4 times that of 2017.
The initiative has also made new contributions to improving local livelihoods. The project to aid the road construction on the fringes of the capital of Madagascar (also known as The Eggs Road) implemented with aid from China, has effectively improved the transportation of eggs in the egg-producing areas near the capital.
The satellite TV access project for 10,000 African villages, including 500 in Madagascar and the drilling of wells in the south, among other “small but beautiful” projects, have enriched cultural life in rural areas and improved water conditions for the people in the south.
The Chinese medical teams stationed in the capital and three other locations have saved lives and provided medical treatment and medicine in Madagascar. Chinese experts and Malagasy doctors jointly carried out the “Bright Journey” activity, restoring sight to more than 200 patients. When Madagascar suffered from natural disasters such as hurricanes, China took the initiative to extend a helping hand, providing timely assistance to help the country recover its normal production and life. The cooperation has effectively benefited people’s livelihoods and won high praise from the Malagasy government and people.
GT: On June 29, in your article “Crossing Mountains and Seas toward the Future” published in the Chinese media outlet International Business Daily that you mentioned Chinese companies have responded actively to the initiative and have been investing more actively in Madagascar, creating a large number of jobs locally, could you please elaborate more on how the initiative has promoted economic and social development as well as employment in Madagascar, and development in other sectors?
Guo: Sound infrastructure is an important prerequisite for attracting investment and achieving development, and infrastructure construction is a key area of the IEM. Since the implementation of the BRI in Madagascar, a series of infrastructure construction cooperation projects implemented by China in Madagascar have provided important support for the economic and social development as well as the improvement of people’s livelihoods in Madagascar.
One example is the completion of the 151.7-kilometer-long rehabilitation project of the RN5A in September 2022. Before the project, the RN5A was in disrepair and impassable due to mud, with a travel time of up to 12 hours during the dry season and two weeks or even impossible to commute on during the rainy season. After the project was completed with preferential loans provided by China, the entire journey now only takes 2.5 hours.
The northern region is an important production area for economic crops such as vanilla and sugarcane in Madagascar. Vanilla is a major export product and an important source of foreign exchange for the agricultural economy.
