Stretching from the Eurasian continent to Africa and Latin America, more than 150 countries and more than 30 international organizations have joined the Belt and Road family. In the past 10 years, more and more countries have shared the fruits of the Belt and Road Initiative, and more and more international cooperation projects have come to fruition. As an important part of jointly building the "Belt and Road", Chinese automobiles have successfully taken root and thrived in the "Belt and Road" partners in the past 10 years. Data show that in 2013, China's total vehicle exports of 872,400, to this year is expected to reach 4.5 million, a 10-year growth rate of up to 416%. The achievement of this achievement fully reflects the role of the "Belt and Road" initiative in promoting China's economy, as well as the strong support for China's automobile "going out".

 

In 2013, automobile companies have responded to actively implement the "Belt and Road" initiative

 

In 2013, under the guidance of the "Belt and Road" Initiative, car companies accelerated the pace of "going out". Byd entered the ASEAN market, starting from public transportation and electrification, and gradually successfully entered the ASEAN market in the fields of new energy commercial vehicles and passenger vehicles. Great Wall Motor announced an investment to build a factory in Thailand to export cars to Thailand and other ASEAN countries; Foton served the construction of Mombasa-Nairobi railway project in Kenya, and delivered 350 heavy trucks in the construction of China Road and Bridge Mombasa-Nairobi Railway project of China Communications Group.

 

2014 China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) Logistics cooperation base opened

 

In May 2014, as the first physical platform of the Silk Road Economic Belt, the China-Kazakhstan (Lianyungang) logistics Cooperation Base was opened. The opening of the base has played an important role in promoting the automobile manufacturing industry of both countries. Auto parts from China and South Korea are mainly sent to Central Asia through this logistics channel, where they are assembled in local factories.

 

Chongqing approved vehicle import port

 

In July 2014, The State Council approved the establishment of a vehicle import port in Chongqing, which is the first time for the country to set up a vehicle import port in the western inland region and plays an important supporting role in the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt. From January to August 2023, 64,000 vehicles were imported and exported for the China-Europe train (Chongqing), an increase of about 36.7 times.

 

Chinese car maker completes biggest investment in South Africa

 

In July 2014, China FAW and China-Africa Fund built and put into operation a large-scale localized production plant in the Kuha Development Zone in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, which was the first overseas self-operated factory of China FAW, and also the most important and largest investment by Chinese entities in South Africa at that time.

 

In 2015, Chinese car brands went deep into Kazakhstan

 

In March 2015, JAC and Kazakhstan SAP executives signed the "JAC product KD Assembly Agreement" at the Great Hall of the People, and in the same year, the first batch of 318 passenger car orders were obtained. Today, China has become the main supplier of Kazakhstan's automobile market.

 

2016 Unified brand of China-Europe freight train arrived in Europe for the first time

 

In June 2016, China Railway officially launched the unified brand of China-Europe Express trains. On June 20, the ceremony of the first China-Europe train to Europe (Poland) of the unified brand was held. This is the first time that the China-Europe freight train has arrived in Europe after using a unified brand and logo, and also provides a boost for the subsequent entry of Chinese brand cars into the European market.

 

The first international production capacity cooperation project in the automotive sector in Central Asia was launched

 

In November 2016, the launch ceremony of JAC Kazakhstan Kostanai Project was held. As the only automobile industry cooperation project in the China-Kazakhstan production capacity cooperation project, the project is included in the 32 industrial revitalization projects in Kazakhstan.

 

2017 Geely acquired Proton

 

In June 2017, Geely acquired 49.9% of the shares of Proton Motors, Malaysia's "national treasure", becoming the exclusive foreign strategic partner of Proton Motors, and Geely was also the first Chinese auto company to exchange technology for market overseas. This is a good example of Belt and Road cooperation between China, Malaysia and Pakistan.

 

The first automobile joint venture project between China and Belarus was launched

 

In November 2017, the factory of Geely Automobile Co., Ltd. in Belarus was inaugurated in Minsk, the capital of the country, which means that Belarus successfully produced its first self-produced car. The "Belarusian" project is the first automotive joint venture project between China and Belarus, and also the first overseas plant construction project under the background of Geely Auto's internationalization strategy.

 

The Medium and Long Term Development Plan for the Automobile Industry emphasizes the opportunities of the Belt and Road Initiative

 

In 2017, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, and the Ministry of Science and Technology jointly issued the Medium and Long-term Development Plan for the Automobile Industry, proposing that the construction of the "Belt and Road" will make overseas development channels more smooth, and the mechanism for the automobile industry to cooperate with other advantageous industries to seek global layout and international development will accelerate the formation. The Plan emphasizes the importance of seizing opportunities such as the "Belt and Road" construction and international production capacity cooperation.

 

Chinese car companies open up the "Belt and Road" market by building factories

 

In 2017, the first China-Pakistan joint venture passenger car was assembled and delivered at FAW Karachi (Allahaj) assembly plant in China. The plant is the first joint venture of a Chinese car company to build a vehicle factory in Pakistan. In the same year, Beiqi Foton and Algeria KIV Group joint venture assembly plant was launched, which is China's first vehicle joint venture and the first vehicle manufacturing plant in Algeria.

 

In 2018, BYD completed the largest electric vehicle delivery in Thailand's history

 

In August 2018, 101 BYD e6 vehicles were successfully delivered in Bangkok, Thailand, setting a new record for the largest delivery of electric vehicles in Thailand. At the same time, the Thai side also signed a cooperation agreement with BYD to create the largest overseas record of 1,000 e6 vehicles. This means that Chinese car brands are constantly breaking the monopoly of international car giants with the help of electric vehicles.

 

Global technical regulations for Electric Vehicle safety achieve standard "Going out"

 

In 2018, the Global Technical Regulation for the Safety of Electric Vehicles (GTR20) was officially published. This is the first technical regulation for electric vehicles and the first regulation that China has participated in as a lead country in the work of the United Nations World Forum on Vehicle Regulations (UN/WP29).

 

The first China International Import Expo was held

 

In November 2018, the world's first large-scale national exhibition with import as the theme - (the first) China International Import Expo was held. The expo set up a single auto exhibition area, nearly 70 auto companies participated in the exhibition, more than 30 for the world's top 500 and industry leading enterprises.

 

For the first time, a Chinese car brand has settled in Algeria

 

In February 2018, the "Chery Algeria Factory KD production line delivery Ceremony" was held in Wuhu, Anhui Province, which means that the assembly and production road of Chinese independent automobile brands in Algeria officially opened. This is the first time that a Chinese car brand has "settled" in Algeria.

 

China's second-hand car export business was officially launched in 2019

 

In April 2019, the three departments of the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued the Notice on Supporting the Export Business of Used Cars in mature Areas, supporting the export business of used cars in 10 regions including Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Xi 'an. In August of the same year, the first batch of new energy used cars were transported to Europe by China-Europe train.

 

The first full-process factory of our own brand overseas rolled off the production line

 

In June 2019, the first full-process vehicle manufacturing plant of Chinese automobile enterprises overseas, the first vehicle of Great Wall Motor's Tula plant in Russia, rolled off the assembly line. The production line of the "Chinese brand + Made in Russia" car shows the style of the Chinese brand "going out".

 

2020 New power car companies to start a new journey of "going to sea"

 

In 2020, China's new power car companies represented by NIO and Xiaopeng will set off a wave of "going to sea" and accelerate the layout of European markets such as Norway and Germany. As the first new power car company to export intelligent electric vehicles to the EU on a large scale, Aichi officially launched the Aichi U5 in Stuttgart, Germany, in March 2020.

 

Chinese cars fill a gap in Uzbekistan's market

 

In April 2020, SAIC General Motors opened the vehicle export business to Central Asian countries through the "Belt and Road" railway for the first time, and the first batch of 216 Chevrolet Explorers exported to Uzbekistan filled the market gap of high-end SUV models in Uzbekistan.

 

The China-Europe freight train has helped accelerate the entry of Chinese cars into Europe

 

From 2017 to August 2020, China Railway Harbin Bureau Group Co., Ltd. has launched a total of 208 China-Europe freight trains for commercial automobiles, and 27,455 Chinese automobiles have been exported to Europe on China-Europe freight trains. In 2020, the first Geely special train of "Yixin Europe" was launched to ensure the normal operation of Geely's overseas factories during the epidemic.

 

In 2021, China's automobile exports exceeded 2 million for the first time

 

In 2021, China exported more than 2 million vehicles, achieving a breakthrough that has been hovering around 1 million for many years. This achievement cannot be achieved without the strong support provided by the "Belt and Road" Initiative for China's own brand automobile export trade.

 

Many Chinese auto companies have come to the aid of Belt and Road partner countries to fight the epidemic

 

In 2021, against the backdrop of the continued global spread of COVID-19, Chinese auto companies continued to extend a helping hand to Belt and Road partners. Great Wall Motor, SAIC-GM-Wuling and other auto companies provided anti-epidemic assistance to Thailand and other Belt and Road partners, donating masks and sending fleets of love vehicles.

 

2022 RCEP officially takes effect

 

On January 1, 2022, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) came into effect, reducing tariff and non-tariff measures, and promoting multilateral trade and regional automotive industry chain development and investment cooperation.

 

Restrictions on new energy vehicle transport on China-Europe express trains will be lifted

 

In October 2022, the National Railway Group fully lifted restrictions on rail transportation of new energy vehicles. At present, the China-Europe freight train has successfully carried self-owned brand new energy vehicles such as NIO, Changan Automobile, Dongfeng Landu to Poland, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other "Belt and Road" partners.

 

China Automobile Standardization Institute was established to promote international cooperation in standards

 

In November 2022, the China Automotive Standardization Institute was established. The institute focuses on the standardization research of more than 10 forward-looking automotive technologies, promotes the formulation of more than 80 new standard projects, and has developed 15 international automotive standards with developed countries in the automotive industry and "Belt and Road" partners.

 

"Belt and Road" partners into an important market for used car exports

 

In 2022, the Ministry of Commerce, the Ministry of Public Security and the General Administration of Customs issued the Notice on Further Expanding the Regional Scope of the Export Business of Used Cars, adding 14 regions such as Liaoning and Fujian to carry out the export business of used cars. By 2022, "Belt and Road" partners have become the main market for China's used car exports, accounting for 97% of the overall export volume.

 

2023 China's auto exports have more than quadrupled in 10 years

 

In 2013, China's total vehicle exports of 872,400, 2023 exports are expected to reach 4.5 million, 10 years of growth of more than four times. Automobile export has become a key factor to promote the growth of automobile sales in China, among which the countries to build the "Belt and Road" provide a very broad incremental market.

 

Chinese cars increased their share of the Russian market to 46%

 

By October 2023, the share of Chinese auto brands in the Russian market has increased from 17% to 46% in one year, and the number of Chinese auto companies officially entered the Russian market has exceeded 20, and the Russian market has become a key factor to promote the growth of China's overall auto exports.

 

The "China-Asean Automobile Standardization Cooperation Mechanism" was released

 

In October 2023, the "China-Asean Automobile Standardization Cooperation Mechanism" was released. In order to address technical barriers to trade caused by different standards, systems, rules and regulations of standards and conformity assessment procedures, the China-Asean Automotive Standardization Dialogue has officially incorporated the cooperation mechanism of the "Sub-Committee on Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures of the China-Asean Free Trade Agreement".

 

Originally published by China Automotive News on October 23, 2023