Building a golden necklace for Liberia

Chinese government and enterprises are strengthening the African country's economy pearl by pearl

Around half of the roughly 4.7 million people of Liberia live in its capital of Monrovia and several small cities and towns around it. More than 1 million of them live in communities along the stretch from Roberts International Airport to Freeport. The road from the airport to Freeport thus serves as the artery for Liberia's economy.

If the road is a golden necklace linking the politics, economy and lives of the people of Liberia, the bilateral, trilateral and multilateral cooperation projects along the road - financed by the Chinese government and invested in by Chinese enterprises - are undoubtedly the shining pearls on the necklace.

The newly repaired runway on which international flights land at the airport was financed by Saudi Arabian funds and built by Sino-Hydro Co. The new terminal for passengers in and out of airport was built by China Harbour Co, with a soft loan provided by the Export-Import Bank of China. The road from the airport to Freeport was financed by the World Bank and built by Henan International Corporation. The above three projects have not only helped Liberia restore its air services, damaged by civil war, but also improved bilateral or multilateral cooperation among China, Liberia, Saudi Arabia and the World Bank.

Since the civil war ended in 2003, the World Bank, African Development Bank and some Arab countries have funded the building of more than 600 kilometers of highways in Liberia. Most of the paved roads were constructed by Chinese contractors. Some of the electricity transmission and water supply projects were also built by Chinese companies.

Some other government and private projects on both sides of the road, such as the 14 Military Hospital, Farmington Hotel and Boulevard Hotel, were built or are being built by Qingdao Construction International.

Shenzhen-based Chinese multinational telecommunications equipment and systems company ZTE has been providing equipment and services to the biggest Liberian mobile communication company, Orange Liberia. The World Bank and the African Development Bank require contractors to pay part of the construction money upfront, subcontract a fixed percentage of work to local contractors, and maintain the projects for up to 15 years.

Chinese companies have been undertaking construction projects at reasonable costs while maintaining high quality, subcontracting part of the work to local contractors, freely helping related local communities to build roads, maintain schools, and hiring and training a large number of local workers. Their work has been highly praised by the Liberian government, international partners and private investors.

Some 28 kilometers into the road from the airport to Monrovia, to the left one passes the Barrack of Liberia National Defense Forces, which is cooperating with Chinese peacekeepers to maintain peace. At the invitation of the United Nations, China has sent 15 groups of peacekeeping troops, including engineers and medical teams, and five groups of anti-riot police teams, to participate in UN peacekeeping operations in Liberia since the end of the civil war. The groups are making great contributions toward restoring peace and stability in Liberia. They have received numerous awards from former Liberian president Ellen Sirleaf, current President George Weah and the UN mission in Liberia for their outstanding performance.

At Liberia's request, China has been providing logistical support and medical supplies, training and other assistance to the Liberian army and police. It has also been supporting the Liberian army to send troops for UN peacekeeping operations in Mali, thus contributing to peace and stability in Liberia and Africa at large.

On the road to Monrovia is the 14 Military Hospital, which is under construction. The Chinese government has also decided to build a reference laboratory to support the hospital.

As the most important transportation facility, the highway plays a great role in political, economic and social development and daily life in Liberia. Most of the government offices, commercial districts, schools and churches are spread out along both sides of the paved road.

Liberian, Lebanese and Chinese traders have set up supermarkets, stores or vehicle dealing agencies and a large percentage of the goods they sell are Chinese goods. Brands belonging to Haier, Gree, Jianghuai and Sinotruck can be seen everywhere.

The Water Street of Monrovia city is a distribution center for Chinese commodities. Many a Chinese businessmen have opened a store here. Some Liberian businessmen too have opened stores and sell products imported from China. The model of commerce created by Chinese and local businessmen has not only brought good quality daily supplies at reasonable price, but also market prosperity and employment to Liberia.

Liberian people fully understand the Chinese saying "To be rich, build roads". President Weah used this saying in his bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping in September 2018 to express Liberia's willingness to join the Belt and Road Initiative. He has been looking forward to strengthening cooperation with China in infrastructure building, particularly road construction for achieving his goal of "Pro-Poor Agenda for Prosperity and Development". The agenda proposes to build paved roads linking capital cities of 15 Liberian counties with Cote d'Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone in the neighborhood. To this end, President Weah is actively seeking the financial support of international partners such as Chinese banks, the World Bank, African Development Bank, Bank of the Economic Community of West African States, the funds of Arab states and others.

The author is China's ambassador to Liberia. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.