International outlook of BRI helping businesses in Wuhan grow overseas

BEIJING, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from China Daily

Enterprises in Wuhan city, Central China's Hubei province, are expanding toward global markets under the Belt and Road Initiative, cultivating a large number of professionals and boosting local economic and social development.

Eight years ago, YOFC, a Wuhan-based enterprise specializing in the production and sale of fiber-optics and cables, set up Yangtze Optics Africa Cable, or YOA Cable, in Durban, South Africa.

Velile Mngonyama, a local production manager of YOA Cable, recalled that to start production smoothly, he and seven other colleagues, as the first group of foreign technical personnel, went to Wuhan in August 2016. There they completed a full set of training, from fiber-optic technology and equipment maintenance to production management, within a month.

"When joining YOA Cable, I started from scratch, and it was the Chinese engineers at YOFC who patiently taught me how to use equipment and manage the production," he said.

Today, YOFC has established eight production bases in countries involved in the BRI, with more than 50 overseas offices, serving more than 100 countries and regions.

In Manila, the capital of the Philippines, a steaming bowl of hot dry noodles has become a regular on the table of Rayan Nalua, senior technical manager of the Philippine subsidiary of Wuhan FiberHome International Technologies.

When he first joined the company 10 years ago, Nalua was a local technical engineer in the network operations and maintenance team. "At that time, my Chinese leaders and colleagues were very tolerant and gave me many opportunities," he said.

Expanding to major cities such as Manila, Cebu and Davao, FiberHome Philippines has become an industry leader with more than 15,000 employees and launched projects across the country.

Ivo, a Bulgarian employee of Wuhan-based HGTECH, an industrial tech enterprise producing laser equipment, said: "China develops rapidly, and the company innovates quickly as well. I enjoy this competitive atmosphere and want to do better."

In 2012, he came to study mechanical engineering at Huazhong University of Science and Technology and graduated with a master's degree in 2018. At the time, HGTECH was expanding into the European market and recruiting talents from home and abroad.

At HGTECH, new self-developed products are emerging continuously. Initially unfamiliar with these products, Ivo took the initiative to search for information to understand the uses, performance, and advantages of the products, and how to provide solutions when issues arise.

Soon after, Ivo secured his first order in Bulgaria, also HGTECH's first in the country. "Working in a high-level company requires continuous learning of new knowledge and mastering new skills," Ivo said.

In Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, Demeke Lule of Humanwell Pharmaceutical Ethiopia, a subsidiary of Wuhan-based Humanwell Healthcare, talked about his achievements over the past few years.

"The pharmaceutical industry is a high-tech industry, and I want to learn advanced pharmaceutical knowledge to produce high-quality drugs urgently needed by Africans," Lule said. From equipment names to specific uses, from machine buttons to operating procedures, under the guidance of Chinese masters, he learned step-by-step.

In 2019, Lule became the quality department's instruments head and was appointed as the executive manager of the quality department in 2022, responsible for process management, equipment maintenance, and training new employees.

Meanwhile, 36-year-old Kristian Kumpumaki, a Swedish language specialist at Transn, an internet-based language services provider in Wuhan, said he hopes to bridge the gap of cultural exchange and mutual learning, allowing the world to understand the real China.

In 2008, filled with curiosity and a longing for Chinese culture, he came to China. "I knew some information about China from the internet and news, and I really wanted to see what the real China was like."

He first took a semester of Chinese language classes at the University of International Business and Economics. After completing his studies, he moved to Shenzhen, Guangdong province, to work and continue studying Chinese.

A Chinese friend once asked him to help translate a Swedish-language document, but he could not accurately translate it into Chinese. He turned to the internet, dictionaries and teachers, trying everything he could, but in the end, he only managed a rough translation.

"That was my first experience with translation, far from achieving 'faithfulness, expressiveness, elegance', but it sparked my interest in translation," Kumpumaki said.

He began to study translation, reading Chinese works and practicing Chinese expressions. Whenever someone asked him to help with translation, he did his best, considering it an opportunity for practice. Gradually, his translation skills improved significantly, and he could translate among Chinese, English and Swedish, even doing part-time translation work at some companies.

While he did translation, Kumpumaki became more fascinated by Chinese culture and decided his career direction: to be the best possible translator. "Many foreigners do not understand the real China. I want to showcase and interpret Chinese wisdom that drives human civilization development, through my translation work, to the world."

In early 2023, he joined Transn, becoming a full-time translator. Soon after, the company undertook a translation project of a well-known foreign automotive manufacturer, and Kumpumaki independently translated a part of it.

"Translation in the automotive field involves many technical terms, which I was initially unfamiliar with. But my colleagues were very skilled; they taught me to understand the precise meaning of each word and how to translate more accurately," he said, adding that translating thousands of pages was very challenging, but with the help of his colleagues, he successfully completed the task.

As the BRI continues to advance, the demand for multilingual translation and language services from various countries is increasing. Transn's overseas business is expanding in areas such as goods trade, service trade and e-commerce.