International Online Report (Reporter Wang Yiming, Liu Peng, Li Xiuli, Guo Xiaoming): This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. Over the past decade, the Belt and Road Initiative has been transformed from concept to action, from vision to reality. Livelihood projects have helped local people improve their living conditions and enhance the livelihood and well-being of the people in the country. Jiang Yao, a young man from Timor-Leste, was deeply touched by this, and said in an exclusive interview with the reporter of the global information broadcast of the main station that the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative has made great contributions to promoting the economic and social development of Timor-Leste and improving the livelihood of the people in Timor-Leste.
Jiang Yao (first from right) at the master's graduation ceremony
Jiang Yao is a local employee of China Harbour Engineering Co., Ltd.'s Timor-Leste office. Seventeen years ago, as one of the first batch of East Timor-Leste students to study in China, he crossed the ocean to study in China. Fluent in Chinese, he is a witness to the friendly exchanges between Timor-Leste and China, and is now a participant in the high-quality construction of the "Belt and Road" between the two countries. "China was the first country to establish diplomatic relations with Timor-Leste. In '06, I started to go to China for undergraduate studies at Beijing Second International Chinese College, and the undergraduate scholarship was a scholarship from the Chinese government. ”
Jiang Yao was the first East Timorese student to complete his studies in China, having studied for a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in China, and was fascinated by Chinese culture and worked in China for several years. He said that these experiences have made him better and can make a greater contribution to the development of Timor-Leste. "When other people in Timor-Leste hear that we speak Mandarin, they want to know why East Timorese speak Mandarin, they speak Chinese, and sometimes there are activities related to China, and they usually ask us to help translate. ”
Jiang Yao (left) and his colleagues at the construction site
Jiang Yao currently serves as the assistant general manager of the Timor-Leste office of China Harbor Engineering Co., Ltd. The Tiba Port project, built by China Harbour, is the first modern international container cargo terminal in Timor-Leste's history. After the opening of the port of Tiba last year, Timor-Leste's maritime capacity has been greatly enhanced. Jiang Yao said that there are many other Chinese companies that improve local infrastructure, bring advanced technology and provide jobs like this. "If there are no Chinese companies, it will definitely be [difficult], and it will be very difficult for us to find a job when we come back. You are optimistic that when hundreds of people come back, they are all working in Chinese companies, and there are no other companies, and many Chinese companies give us a lot of opportunities, so it is very helpful for us to come back and find employment. ”
Jiang Yao (first from right) took a group photo with colleagues
With the deepening of the Belt and Road Initiative between Timor-Leste and China, more and more young people like Jiang Yao who have made unremitting efforts to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries have also emerged. Jiang Yao said that the number of international students who went to China to study from East Timor was only three in 06 years to hundreds every year. "We are also grateful to the Chinese government and Chinese companies, because as soon as we became independent, they brought a lot of good development (opportunities), so I can say that (if) there are no Chinese companies, no Chinese to come, Timor-Leste will definitely develop very slowly." ”
This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative and the 21st anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Timor-Leste. Jiang Yao said that he is proud to witness the win-win cooperation and people-to-people ties between the two countries in the process of jointly building the "Belt and Road". In the future, he will continue to be a "messenger on the road" and contribute to the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and the friendship between the two countries.