At present, Hunan Construction Investment Group (HCIG) has over 5,500 foreign employees. Its overseas business has thrived in the first quarter of this year. As a provincial backbone state-owned enterprise, HCIG has made efforts to promote the realization of the “Three Hubs and Four New Missions” blueprint and to be in the vanguard of building the “three highlands (national important advanced manufacturing highland, technological innovation highland with core competitiveness, and inland reform and opening-up highland)”.

“Hardware connectivity” of infrastructure is an important cornerstone of the joint construction of the “Belt and Road”. Since the 1960s, the group has been cultivating its international business. Its subsidiaries, including Sino-Hunan International Engineering and Development Co., Ltd. (SHICO), Hunan Road & Bridge Construction Group Co., Ltd.(HNRB), Hunan No.6 Engineering Co., Ltd., and Hunan International Communications Economic Engineering Cooperation Co., Ltd., have mature business layouts in the international market, and have extended the reach across 60 countries and regions around the world.

The group has built a number of landmark projects, such as the China-aided Competitive Wrestling Stadium project in Senegal, the China-aided Presidential Palace project in Burundi, the No.1 National Highway Project in the Republic of Congo, and the Khevi-Ubisa Section of E60 Expessway Project, Georgia. 

The group has helped improve the infrastructure of countries along the routes of BRI, with more than 1.5 million square meters of houses, nearly 13,500 kilometers of roads, more than 100 bridges, 20 tunnels, and 15 power stations built in total. 

In 2024, the total amount of newly signed overseas contracts by the group exceeded 20 billion yuan, a significant year-on-year increase.

“During the epidemic in Mongolia, we were the only Chinese funded enterprise that continued to perform the contract in the country, with on-time production and delivery,” said a staff of Hunan Industrial Equipment Installation Co., Ltd. This allowed local people to feel Chinese people’s hard work and sincerity in performing the contract.

The company mostly undertakes livelihood projects such as water supply, power supply and heating overseas. 

Africa has a high demand for infrastructure, but it lacks funds. “We can exchange resources for projects and projects for products. For example, coal, iron ore and other resources for which local authorities don’t have mining and smelting capabilities can be exchanged for projects,” said a manager in charge of the group’s overseas business. The group is committed to creating a model integrating production, industry and trade to reinvest the profits from overseas projects, in a bid to advance its rolling development and local industrial upgrading.

New development concepts are also being promoted along with the construction of projects. “Since the implementation of the national ‘carbon peak and carbon neutrality’ strategy, overseas projects have gradually shifted towards new energy sources such as waste to energy, photovoltaics, and wind power,” said a staff of SHICO. 

External investment projects are an important window for the country’s foreign cooperation. The group has leveraged its professional advantages in infrastructure to create high-quality and benchmark projects. At the same time, it has explored new models of economic and trade cooperation with Africa based on the advantages of the entire industry chain.

“Teaching one how to fish is better than giving him fish” is a concept that China has always adhered to in its foreign aid and international development cooperation.

“We provide a series of technical guidance and skill training to local employees through ‘mentorship’,” said the head of Hunan Construction Engineering Group. The China-aided Competitive Wrestling Stadium project in Senegal, undertaken by the company, provided more than 4,000 job opportunities for the local people and trained about 1,000 technical workers including electricians, welders, and carpenters during the construction of over two years.

“Nowadays, many local employees in Africa are the second or third generation of the first workers. 5 to 6 core technical managers are dispatched from the headquarters, and the rest are local employees,” said a staff of Hunan International Communications Economic Engineering Cooperation Co., Ltd. The company has cultivated markets in African countries such as Mali, Gabon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Madagascar. Wherever a project is launched, a crushing plant and an asphalt plant will be built, which will boost local employment.

A young man from a rural area in Nakuru of Kenya joined HNRB as a cleaner in 2006 and later became a kitchen helper. Under the guidance of Chinese chefs, he has been working at HNRB Kenya Company for nearly 20 years and has become a skilled chef in Chinese cuisine.

At the beginning of this year, the cross-river bridge in Kayes of Mali opened to traffic. The river swelled during the rainy season for many years, leading to interrupted transportation, so people only could travel by boat. After understanding the situation, Hunan International Communications Economic Engineering Cooperation Co., Ltd. built this bridge for them for free. 

According to Hunan No.6 Engineering Co., Ltd., locals are accustomed to say dumplings and chopsticks in Chinese nowadays. The Chinese New Year event is held in the Chinese Embassy in Seychelles every year, and the company organizes charity sales and makes delicious food and snacks to convey the authentic “Chinese New Year flavor”. Senegal has a strong football atmosphere, so the company has donated school supplies and football kits multiple times based on local needs.

Making donations and doing charity have long been commonplace for HCIG. 

According to Hunan Industrial Equipment Installation Co., Ltd., in the past, we mostly told China’s stories abroad, but now foreigners are invited to learn about China’s stories in China, which has a very good effect. The company has participated in multiple phases of technical assistance to Mongolia. Foreign friends were deeply impressed by China’s strength and rapid development. 

In the next stage, HCIG will continue to consolidate mature markets in Africa and Southeast Asia, and increase the development of strategic markets in Central Asia and the Middle East, in a bid to create a comprehensive integrated service provider in overseas markets.

Cai Dianwei, chairman of HCIG, said that as the largest foreign economic enterprise in Hunan, the group actively implements the national strategy, deeply integrates into the “Belt and Road”, assists in economic and trade with Africa, contributing to Hunan’s endeavor to build a highland of reform and opening up in inland areas.