China brings advanced technologies to BRI partner countries

LANZHOU -- Wearing a white lab coat and a face mask, Chadian man Tidjani Daoussa follows the instructions of a Chinese technician as he learns to operate refining and hydrogen production equipment.

Daoussa, 32, is an employee at N'Djamena Refinery Co., Ltd., a Chad-based joint venture between China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and Chad's state-owned oil company. He joined the company in 2017 after graduating from the China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) with a degree in petroleum engineering.

Daoussa is one of 30 Chadians who arrived in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province, in late May to participate in a three-month training program offered by CNPC's Yumen Oilfield.

"We provide them with courses on skills improvement, safety and emergency preparedness, and cross-cultural exchange," said Jiang Rui, an employee of Yumen Oilfield. He added that the goal is to train more than 1,000 Chadian workers in five years, gradually introducing CNPC's vocational skills standards in Chad.

Under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Gansu has been promoting high-quality cooperation with BRI partner countries in its key industries, including petroleum refining, solar energy and dryland farming. An increasing number of Chinese scientists and technicians are playing vital roles in this effort.

In an exhibition hall at the Gansu Natural Energy Research Institute, a small solar power pump station, covering less than one square meter, is on display. Institute officer Qiao Junqiang explained that the device was developed in 2017 and has since been adopted in demonstrating farms in Pakistan and Nepal.

"The pump station can pump 16 tonnes of water per day, which can irrigate 8 mu (about 0.53 hectares) of farmland or supply drinking water for 320 people," Qiao said.

In the agricultural sector, an international cooperation project led by Long Ruijun, a professor at Lanzhou University's College of Ecology, is currently underway. The project aims to analyze the effects of vegetation diversity on yaks' feed selection and lactation performance in the trans-Himalaya region.

"Residents of the alpine areas in countries like Pakistan and Nepal earn a living by raising yaks. This project is expected to introduce advanced breeding concepts and models," Long said, emphasizing its importance for food security.

For over two decades, Long and his team have collaborated with more than 10 countries and regions, including Pakistan, Tajikistan and Nepal, on agriculture and animal husbandry.

"Under the BRI framework, cooperation on platform construction, technical training and personnel training will deepen, and competitive industries in northwest China will continue to thrive," Long said.