洲际铁路的开通，带来的直接好处就是降低了贸易成本。原本需要海运，甚至空运的货物，如今可以通过铁路快速运输，在时间快和成本低上取得了最佳平衡，直接促进了国际贸易的发展。

世界银行的研究表明，“一带一路”建设将使全球贸易成本降低1.8%。

These intercontinental railways have greatly reduced trade costs by providing a swift and cost-effective alternative to sea or air freight, thereby driving the growth of global trade.

According to the World Bank, the Belt and Road Initiative could reduce global trade costs by as much as 1.8 percent.

目前，中国境内已铺画中欧班列运行线86条，通达欧洲25个国家和地区超过200个城市，以及11个亚洲国家和地区超过100个城市。

古丝绸之路上的驼队如今已变成一条条钢铁驼队，从“连点成线”到“织线成网”，成为基本覆盖亚欧大陆全境的国际运输大动脉。

There are now 86 freight train lines in China that are linked to more than 200 cities in 25 European countries and regions and more than 100 cities in Asia, so the network covers almost the entire landmass of Eurasia.

在东南亚腹地的老挝，一条中老铁路（China-Laos Railway）让这个“陆锁国”变成“陆联国”。这条铁路连接老挝首都万象和中国云南，修建过程中，还清除了美国遗留下来的成千上万颗未爆炸的炸弹和地雷。铁路开通后客货两旺，口岸经济、跨境旅游蒸蒸日上。

The China-Laos Railway brings to fruition a long-held dream of the Lao people to transform their country from a landlocked one to a land-linked hub.

在非洲，肯尼亚有了近百年来第一条现代化铁路，蒙内铁路（Mombasa-Nairobi Railway），解决了蒙巴萨港与内陆地区货物运输效率低下的问题。这条铁路不仅为当地创造了4.6万个工作岗位，拉动了经济增长超过2个百分点，更是让设有站点的30多个城镇重新焕发生机，新一轮城镇化浪潮正席卷铁路沿线。

The Mombasa-Nairobi Railway has created 46,000 jobs and added more than two percentage points to local economic growth. It has also revitalized more than 30 towns along the route, leading to a new wave of urbanization in the area.

尼日利亚有了第一个现代化深水港，莱基港（Lekki Port）。它解决了老港设施陈旧，无法支撑海运需求的问题。据测算，莱基港45年内可以拉动尼日利亚3610亿美元的GDP增长，创造17万个就业岗位。一个港口带火了一座城，甚至一个国家。

Nigeria now has its first modern deep seaport Lekki, which is forecast to create nearly 170,000 jobs and generate revenue of $361 billion over the next 45 years.

“一带一路”倡议就是这样吸引了全球超过四分之三国家的参与，实实在在地改善了全球30%人口的生活。

10年里，倡议拉动近万亿美元投资规模，为共建国家创造42万个工作岗位，让将近4000万人摆脱贫困。许多发展中国家已经涌现了新兴产业；许多亚太国家实现了经济正增长，地区工业革命蓄势待发，数字经济发展迅猛。

The Belt and Road Initiative has attracted the participation of more than three-quarters of countries globally, substantially improving the lives of 30 percent of the world’s population.

The initiative has generated nearly a trillion dollars in investment in the past decade, created 420,000 local jobs and lifted nearly 40 million people out of poverty. 

中国帮助发展中国家搞基建，这是西方国家数百年殖民这些土地时从未做过的事情，而中国做这些从不附加任何政治条件（with no strings attached），目的只是共同发展、合作共赢。

It should not be forgotten that China's role in developing infrastructure in less well-off countries is something their Western colonial masters never did. And contrary to what Western cynics say, that help comes with no strings attached. For China, everything these countries gain from its help is a gain for the world.