Silk Road strategy wins thumbs-up from journalists

China's national strategy of reviving the ancient Silk Road is expected to benefit its neighbors and other countries along the route, according to foreign journalists reporting on the two sessions.

参加两会报道的外国记者认为，中国重振古丝绸之路的国家战略有望使邻国及丝路沿线的其他国家受益。

Alberto Lebron, a journalist from Spanish International Economics, said that by reviving the ancient trade route, China will enhance free trade with Asian, European and African countries.

《西班牙国际经济》记者阿尔伯特·勒布朗（Alberto Lebron）表示，通过恢复古代贸易路线，中国将加强与亚洲、欧洲及非洲国家的自由贸易。

"Free trade is always good because it could improve people's livelihoods," said Lebron, who has covered the annual sessions of China's top legislature and the country's top political advisory body for five years. By adjusting its goal of economic growth, China is seeking high GDP growth, which would be good for both the Chinese and global economies, he said on Sunday.

 “自由贸易好处多多，它能改善人们的生活。” 勒布朗说。他参与报道中国的两会已经五年了。他认为，调整经济发展的目标，中国正在追求GDP的高增长，这将有益于中国乃至全球的经济。

According to the government work report delivered by Premier Li Keqiang on March 5, China will work with the relevant countries in developing the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, also known as the "Belt and Road" strategy.

总理李克强3月5日发布的政府工作报告中指出，中国将同有关国家合作，推进丝绸之路经济带和21世纪海上丝绸之路的建设，即广为人知的“一带一路”战略。

The ancient trade routes are a land-based line from China via Central Asia and Russia to Europe, and a strategic path through the Strait of Malacca to India, the Middle East and East Africa. The initiatives began to take shape in 2014 with a focus on infrastructure.

该古代贸易路线包括一条始于中国，经过中亚和俄罗斯到达欧洲的陆上线路，还有一条经过马六甲海峡到达印度、中东和东非的战略路线。该举措于2014年初步成形，重点关注基础设施的建设。

"We will make China's interior and border areas more open to the outside world," Li said in the report.

李克强在报告中指出，“我们将扩大内陆和沿边地区开放。”

China's "Belt and Road" strategy will bring big changes for the relevant countries, and the implementation of the initiatives would be a win-win process, said Wu Muyi, a senior journalist from Alpha TV of Russia.

中国的“一带一路”战略将给有关国家带来重大的变化，该举措的实施也会创造一个双赢的局面，俄罗斯阿尔法电视台资深记者吴牧一说。

Wu, who has covered China's two sessions since 13 years ago, said that China's economic growth is of great interest to the Russian government and Russian people since the countries have cooperated in many areas including energy and trade.

她报道中国两会已经13年，她表示，中俄两国在能源和贸易等众多领域已经合作多年，中国的经济发展对俄罗斯政府及其人民都至关重要。

China's strategy of reviving the ancient trade route will benefit Russia in terms of high-speed railways, natural gas, petrol, power plants and so on, she said, adding that the slowdown of China's economic growth is not bad news.

中国重启古贸易路线的战略将有利于俄罗斯高铁、天然气、石油、发电厂等方面的发展，她表示，中国经济增长放缓其实不是坏消息。

"We should not focus on the number that China's GDP growth reaches, but the quality," she said. "It's a wise decision for the Chinese government to shift the country's economic structure in a sustainable and stable manner."

 “我们不应关注中国GDP的增长率，而应关注其质量，”她说，“中国政府致力于以一种稳定、可持续的方式转变经济结构，这是个明智的决定。”

Zekarias Wzekichan, a journalist from Ethiopia, said that China's proposal of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road has benefited some of the coastal countries in Africa with railway construction.

埃塞俄比亚记者泽卡尼亚斯表示，因中国提出的21世纪海上丝绸之路推进的铁路建设已经给非洲的一些临海国家带来了好处。

In May 2014, China signed a deal to build a railway worth $3.8 billion between Kenya's Mombasa and Nairobi, the first phase of a line that will eventually connect Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan.

2014年5月，中国与肯尼亚签署协议，在蒙巴萨岛与内罗比之间修建一条造价38亿美元的铁路，第一期工程结束后肯尼亚将实现与乌干达、卢旺达、布隆迪以及南苏丹的铁路连接。

Apart from coastal countries, the inland areas of Africa also expected to benefit from China's "Belt and Road" projects, Wzekichan said, adding that the number of African journalists attending China's two sessions has been rising in recent years.

除临海国家外，非洲的内陆地区也有望从中国的“一带一路”举措中获益，泽卡尼亚斯补充说，参加两会的非洲记者近年来越来越多。