With the Sichuan opening-up in line with the Belt and Road Initiative, more companies from countries and regions involved in the intercontinental program have been drawn to the province's capital Chengdu to do business.

One international corporate heavyweight with operations in the region is Alstom, a rail transport and power equipment manufacturer from France.

Its Shanghai-based joint venture, Shanghai Alstom Transport Electrical Equipment, agreed to build a manufacturing site in Xinjin county in Chengdu earlier this year, to produce traction systems for urban rail transportation.

So far, Alstom has signed orders to supply traction systems for over 1,250 metro cars for Chengdu metro lines 3, 4 and 5. Its newly established Chengdu plant will help Shanghai Alstom to provide systems for future lines.

In May, another Alstom joint venture in China, CASCO Signal, also established a subsidiary in Chengdu to provide railway signaling systems to the Sichuan market.

Fang Ling, managing director of China and East Asia for Alstom, said Chengdu is one of the most important markets for the company in China.

She said the city is the gateway for Alstom to enter the huge, high-potential markets not only in Chengdu, but also in Sichuan province and the entire central and western regions of China.

"Alstom appreciates the strategic partnership we have built with our customer, Chengdu Metro. We will strengthen the partnership in the future by introducing our world-advanced technology and management experiences, and strengthening our localized manufacturing," she said.

In another development, Italian Vice-Minister of Economic Development Ivan Scalfarotto, signed an agreement with Chengdu on behalf of his nation on Aug 3 to build a cultural park in the city's Tianfu New Area.

This will be another international cooperation park in Chengdu after similar parks in partnership with Germany, France and South Korea.

Covering about 670 hectares, the new park will host a series of joint projects between China and Italy in areas such as culture, environmental protection, medical care, agriculture and the aviation industry.

Scalfarotto stressed that Italy values the opportunities brought by the Belt and Road Initiative, and wants to further enhance cooperation in trade and investment with Sichuan, which is an important part of the initiative.

Sichuan plans to become an active player in the initiative by facilitating trade and investment with Belt and Road-related countries, local officials said.

To date, investors from 33 Belt and Road-related countries and regions have funded 935 companies in Sichuan, with actual investment totaling $7 billion, according to local statistics.

(China Daily European Weekly 10/20/2017 page11)