丝路人：马永贝森林来了一群劈山人，他们就是中国人

丝路人

“国之交在于民相亲，民相亲在于心相通。”

“一带一路”不仅是经济、贸易之路，也是文明、友谊之路。

在过去几年中，“一带一路”沿线国家的民众们也积极参与到建设当中来，共建"民心相通桥"， 共享发展成果。

在本期《丝路人》系列视频中，在中国建筑集团有限公司工作了三十年的中建国际执行总经理李吉勤讲述了他的“一带一路”故事。

Close cooperation on infrastructure, the economy and technology between China and its 

Closer cooperation on infrastructure, economy and technology between China and partner nations has thrived since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2013. 

Thanks to these deepening ties, more Chinese companies have expanded their operations overseas.

CGTN is sharing personal stories of employees who work in Chinese companies that benefit from the BRI.

In the ninth episode of "The Faces," Li Jiqin shares his experience of being the first project manager at the construction site of the Republic of Congo's Highway No. 1 project and how the project makes Congolese's dream come true.

修路是刚果（布）人民多年的梦想。他们的总理在讲，马永贝森林里边来了一些劈山的人，他们就是中国人。一号公路始建于1980年，二十多年来由于缺乏维护以及战争的破坏，公路损坏非常严重。而与一号公路平行的连接黑角与布拉柴的大洋铁路也由于年久失修，无法形成正常功能。

The Republic of Congo's Highway No. 1.

The project, with total length about 600 kilometers, starts from Pointe-Noire, the nation's largest port city, to the capital Brazzaville. Since it was set up in 2016, the highway has cut the travel time from Brazzaville to Pointe-Noire from one week to six hours and increased the number of vehicles passing between the two cities per day from 100 to 4,000, providing vital trade links for the country. 

刚果（布）国家一号公路，项目全长536公里，连接刚果（布）两个最大的城市政治首都布拉柴维尔和经济首都黑角，合同额28.9亿美元，是迄今为止使用中国资金建设的里程最长的境外公路项目，同时也是中刚建交50年来两国之间最大、最重要的合作项目。从2008年至2016年，历时8年的征程，刚果（布）国家1号公路最终实现了全线通车。黑角到布拉柴的车程从一个星期缩短至6个小时。

Li Jiqin joined China State Construction Engineering Corporation Ltd. (CSCEC) straight after graduating from Tsinghua University in 1987. Currently, he's the executive manager of CSCEC. 

李吉勤，教授级高级工程师，1987年7月毕业于清华大学，现任中国建筑国际工程公司执行总经理。这几年他成功地实施了几个比较大的项目包括刚果(布)国家1号公路(最终结算额28.92亿美元)、巴基斯坦卡拉奇-拉合尔高速公路(苏库尔本尔坦段) (合同额28.89亿美元) 、刚果(布)国家1号公路特许经营(预计营业收入60.7亿欧元)等多个大型海外项目。

The Highway No. 1 project started in 2008 and lasted for eight years. Li was its first manager.

Li Jiqin at work in the Republic of Congo in 2008./Photo Courtesy of CSCEC 

为中建服务了30多年，李吉勤见证了中国公司走出去的历程。做为刚果（布）项目的第一人项目经理，回想整个建设历程，他感到十分骄傲。

"The project was negotiated during the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in 2006 and was the biggest infrastructure contract signed between the two countries that year. Before Highway No. 1 was constructed, there was no land transportation between these two cities," Li said, connecting the country's political center to its economic hub is a dream of the Congolese.

“在这个项目建成通车以前，刚果布从黑角到布拉柴维尔，实际上在陆路上是没有任何联通的，那时候我们从黑角运一个集装箱到布拉柴的话，大概需要2000多美元，现在成本也降低了很多。当地一个司机在讲，根本不敢想象我从黑角到布拉柴，一天两天能走通，甚至不敢想象一个集装箱在当天就能到达。”

For the Republic of Congo, the Mayombe, with rich reserves of natural resources and wood, is a national treasure. However, the ancient forest lies between Brazzaville and Pointe-Noire. So, building a road through the forest becomes extremely hard. 

The Republic of Congo is a high-prevalence area of West Africa Tropical Diseases. Moreover, in the Mayombe Forest, there are almost all kinds of Africa Tropical diseases that people have heard or seen, like malaria, filariasis and drosophila. More than half of Chinese employees on the project have been infected with malaria, and some of them even had to suffer the shaking chills and high fevers from malaria once a week.

“刚果（布）国家政府，下至老百姓，都认为中国人、中国公司了不起。这个项目本身来讲，长达八年，生活条件很艰苦。刚果（布）本身就是西非热带病高发地区。而且马永贝森林里边听到过，或者能看到过非洲热带疾病都有，疟疾也好，丝虫病也好果蝇也好等等。员工们大概有一半以上得过疟疾，甚至有的员工可能一个礼拜就打一次摆子。但他们坚守过来了，大家坚持下来有一个信念，他们是代表中国，代表中建。”

"Although we have suffered many hardships, for eight years, living conditions were very difficult, but our goal has been achieved. The economy in Congo has been greatly improved." Li said the reason why they can get through it is they have faith in themselves: They are representing China and their company. 

"Their prime minister kept saying that there are some people who blast cliffs and split mountains in the Mayombe Forest, and they are Chinese." During the eight-year construction period, CSCEC has helped elevate the construction skillsets of nearly 20,000 local workers by offering technical knowledge, training and practical project experiences.

Li Jiqin in his Beijing office.

对于李吉勤来说，三十年中建走来，国旗飘扬在哪里，他就会奋斗在哪里。

For Li, who has served CSCEC for more than 30 years, has witnessed the tremendous change of Chinese companies "going abroad." Although it was very hard, they still feel proud. "Where the destiny of our nation lies, is where we should strive."

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