2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the the Belt and Road Initiative. In the past 10 years, the the Belt and Road has become a popular global public product and international cooperation platform. Recently, 15 ambassadors to China from the the Belt and Road partner countries talked about the changes brought to their hometown by the the Belt and Road Initiative.

Due to its unique geographical location, Georgia has been a crossroads for Eurasian economic and trade exchanges since ancient times, and also a necessary passage for the ancient Silk Road. "Georgia, as an important hub, connects eight landlocked countries. In an interview, Georgia's ambassador to China, Alchi Kalandia, was full of expectations for deepening cooperation along the the Belt and Road.

Karandia said, "Recently, under the the Belt and Road Initiative, we have injected new impetus into the further development of the trans Caspian international transport corridor, that is, the intermediate corridor. Georgia will play a vital role in its development." The corridor mainly includes two transport routes. One is the railway starting from China and passing through Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and the European Union. Baku Tbilisi Kars railway is very important in this line. The second route is to transport Chinese goods from Georgia and the Black Sea to the European market through Georgia and the Black Sea, utilizing Georgia's port infrastructure. By utilizing this transportation corridor, the shipping time from China to Europe can be reduced by two times.

Speaking of the cooperation achievements between China and Georgia under the framework of the the Belt and Road Initiative, Ambassador Kalandia believed that one of the most outstanding achievements was the opening of the direct freight train from China to Georgia and the China EU freight train from China to Europe via Georgia. With the China Europe freight train, it takes about 15 days to transport goods from the Chinese border to the European market through Georgia, which is the shortest time for land transportation between China and Europe. This not only saves money, but also saves many other aspects of consumption. Editor/Zhao E