The Belt and Road Initiative gave a fresh boost to Hainan Airlines. It has been famous for six consecutive years with its successful combination of Chinese culture, Oriental service concept and modern aviation industry.
In recent years the company has not only expanded its airline net from China to Manchester, Prague, Tel Aviv, Rome, but also developed into a large-scale enterprise group of aviation, tourism, logistics and finance.
"An aviation company like us can also contribute to the construction of the Belt and Road by tightening connections between China and the countries on the route with considerate services," the person in charge of the group told People's Daily in a recent interview.
As a global enterprise with 200 international airlines, Hainan Airlines pays special attention to fulfill its enterprise social responsibility, especially in the least developed countries. It has helped more than 6,500 cataract patients regain their eyesight in Zimbabwe and Malawi.
More and more Chinese enterprises in the service sectors such as hotels, restaurants, cultural creativity, tourism, traditional Chinese medicine and information technology, have participated in the Belt and Road construction.
We have to overcome the difficulty imposed by cultural differences, if we want to expand in the world market, said Xiao Hong, CEO of the Perfect World Company, an exporter of video games, films and cultural products to more than 100 countries and regions.
The difficulty in Thailand's market is that we have to build joint ventures with local partners to start our business; the problem of Indonesia is that credit cards are not often used; the biggest problem with Europe is that the market is scattered and belongs to different languages and cultural systems, Xiao said.
"Cultural background and consumption habits are important to trade in the service sectors," Xiao said. "Although there are a lot of differences among the countries along the Belt and Road, the Chinese culture and quality service can serve as a password to enter these markets."
The company has set up more than 20 branches in Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Europe. Xiao said that when the company founds overseas branches, the customer service team is invariably set up before the technology and operation teams and the company attaches great importance to conduct field research in local communities so as to provide customized services.
A language service and big-data service website for the Belt and Road Initiative was launched recently in Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province and starting point of the ancient Silk Road. Such websites are not rare in China today, as many people see the business opportunities in language translation, information consultation and services behind the Belt and Road Initiative.
China's trade with the Belt and Road countries and regions in the first three quarters of last year reached over US$64 billion, up 30 percent year-on-year, and the service trade is a key contributor to the marked growth, according to China's Ministry of Commerce.
The service trade, as a representative of China's soft power, will play a big role in lubricating the Chinese enterprises' "going out" efforts, as it strengthens cultural bonds and deepens mutual understanding of different peoples, Xiao added.
