“Having established cooperation with 157 countries in the world including Pakistan, we aim to take a step further to leverage our advantages in the whole infrastructure industrial chain and promote the ‘soft connectivity’ of rules and standards and people-to-people exchanges with the Belt and Road countries”. This was stated by Wang Tongzhou, Chairman of China Communications Construction in an interview with China Economic Net (CEN) after the Belt and Road CEO Conference held here. Wang Tongzhou, Chairman of China Communications Construction in an interview at the Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation [Photo/China Economic Net] The construction company has undertaken a series of major infrastructure projects in Pakistan, including the KKH Phase-II, Gwadar Port, Eastbay Express Way etc., upgrading facilities for Pakistani people and breaking local technical boundaries. “As iron brothers, we have full confidence in our cooperation with Pakistan”, Mr. Wang told CEN. For him, technology transfer is of critical importance in enhancing soft connectivity. “On one hand, frontier technologies such as IoT, big data, AI, etc. will be more widely employed. Through digital connectivity, more smart transportation projects will be built”, he said. “In addition, green, low-carbon technologies are expected to be applied throughout the process of as many projects as possible to empower Belt and Road countries to achieve energy conservation and emission goals as the world is moving towards green, low-carbon, intelligent development”, he added. By transferring technologies, standards are shared and chances for people-to-people connections are created. According to Mr. Wang, all of the six projects for which agreements have been signed at the Belt and Road CEO Conference put priority on people-to-people connectivity and green technologies. The Conference was the first official event of the ongoing Third Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation. Nearly 300 Chinese and international delegates signed agreements at the conference, involving 68 countries and covering projects in infrastructure, clean energy, artificial intelligence, financial services, modern agriculture, rail transit, etc. As of June 2023, China had signed 107 documents with standardization bodies in 65 countries and also with regional and international organizations, in areas covering civil aviation, climate change, agri-food, building materials, electric vehicles, oil and gas pipelines, logistics, small hydropower stations, oceanography, and surveying and mapping, according to a white paper on Belt and Road Initiative released last week.