New energy sector eyeing opportunities in Silk Road initiatives

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-11-23

A PV industrial park in Hami, Xinjiang, July 22. (File photo/Xinhua)

Chinese industries, particularly the new energy sector, are eying opportunities stemming from the Silk Road initiatives, including the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road project, after Chinese president Xi Jinping announced recently that China will contribute US$40 billion to set up a fund to finance the initiatives, the China Securities Journal reports.

The Silk Road infrastructure fund will be used for investing in infrastructure, resources and industrial and financial cooperation, among other projects, Xi stated.

The Silk Road initiatives were proposed in 2013 and have since then attracted attention from various industries seeking to tap into business opportunities, including the new energy sector.

The new energy industry represented by the solar power sector is an indispensable part of implementing China's Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road initiative, which aims to build roads, railways, ports and airports across Central Asia and South Asia, said Ding Wenlei, executive director of the Shandong-based Hangyu Solar.

The Silk Road Economic Belt will include regions in Central Asia, the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Western Europe, while the Maritime Silk Road will encompass countries and regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, North Africa and the Arabian peninsula. Some of these regions have an abundance of fossil fuels, including natural gas and petroleum and some have enormous potential for the development of renewable resources.

Northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region, which is a part of the Silk Road Economic Belt plan, has an apparent advantage in its geography and civilization and China should grab the opportunity to promote Xinjing's opening up and building a passage for international trade between East and West.

In recent years, Xinjiang has striven to build itself into the country's onshore strategic energy base. Xinjiang Electric Power announced on Nov. 14 that it will start the construction of a 750 kilovolt power grid in the region and ensure it will be completed by the end of 2015.

Ting added that Xinjiang has the unique advantage of developing solar photovoltaic cells, given Xinjiang's annual 1,800-1,900 average hours of sunshine, which is ranked second in the country by region.