On Nov. 5, two light boxes caught the eyes of commuters inside the underground passage of the Kitay-gorod station of the Moscow Metro Line 6, as locals and Chinese tourists marveled at the pictures of some Russian architectural landmarks built by Chinese companies.

The advertising campaign was made by China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC), one of the main constructors of the famous Federation Tower. A local employee of CSCEC Russia, who was taking a selfie with the skyscraper he participated in building, said the Sino-Russian cooperation projects have provided people in Russia with a new perspective in understanding China.

China contracted project won highest acclaim

The year 2019 marked the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Russia. CSCEC, which started to explore the Russian market 13 years ago, was the first Chinese company to win an overseas engineering award.     

The Chinese Trade Center in Moscow was the only Chinese project nominated by Russia’s State Construction Supervision Commission. It emerged from 1,000 projects contracted by 200 companies from around the world to win the 2017 Moscow Engineering Excellence Award. In the award ceremony, the chief officer of the State Construction Supervision Commission spoke highly of CSCEC for its advanced management experience, excellent organizational skills, and ubiquitous craftsmanship spirit.

Once completed, the Chinese Trade Center will function as a Belt and Road hub for Chinese enterprises and become a trade and information center for Chinese products. The project was scheduled to be completed in 28 months, including 12 months in Moscow’s winter climate. During the construction, CSCEC demonstrated the Chinese speed and quality. Despite a 125-year record temperature of minus-36 degrees Celsius, CSCEC used effective construction safety measures such as snow shelters to guarantee work progress in the winter months, and managed to complete the main structure of the project on Sept. 26, 2017, five days ahead of schedule.

The restoration project of the permanent exhibition hall at the site of the Sixth National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) is a project dedicated to the 95th anniversary of the founding of the CPC. The original building was severely damaged by multiple fire incidents, and the restoration of ancient buildings is a complicated process. CSCEC introduced the leading BIM technology and combined it with the traditional Russian manual craftsmanship, which solved the problems brought by the wooden dome structure. After the restoration, the wooden blocks were spliced tightly into a perfectly hemispherical shape. When the exhibition hall opened on July 4, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin sent congratulatory messages on the opening event..

In addition to the two projects, the light boxes also demonstrated other high-quality and highly acclaimed engineering projects completed by Chinese companies: the Vostok Tower of the Federation Tower complex, which is the tallest concrete building in Europe; the Nevsky Center, the first-ever underground project built in St. Petersburg that is more than 6 meters below ground level; and the Chinese Cultural Center in Moscow, standing as China’s official cultural institution in Eastern Europe.

Friendship on the Belt and Road

Russia is the starting point of the Belt and Road in Europe and has been the core interchange hub for Asia-Europe connections. CSCEC aims to actively promote deeper and more diversified cooperation between China and Russia in the construction field, and to provide more job opportunities for the Russian construction industry.

CSCEC has established a deep friendship with the Russian people. Apart from the contracted projects, CSCEC Russia also planted trees, built green belts, fixed up the surrounding environment, and improved the local infrastructure conditions, building a positive image of Chinese companies among the local people. Cultural exchange events such as ball games and performances were also organized to further promote mutual understanding between the two peoples.

In CSCEC Russia, Chinese and Russian employees have created a harmonious atmosphere in the workplace, and celebrate both Chinese and Russian holidays together. Anna, translator at the Chinese Trade Center in Moscow, said she became a CSCEC employee by chance and didn’t expect that she would have stayed for 11 years. She said the company has been a home to her where she and her colleagues treat each other like family members.

Alexey, who started working in CSCEC Russia eight years ago, said he realized his dreams at the company. He rose from a mechanical and electrical engineer to become the head of the department, and formed a family with a colleague, Nastya. Alexey said that his friends and relatives are very happy that he can work for CSCEC.

Mikhail, another employee, hoped that CSCEC can bring the advanced technical experience of the Chinese construction industry to Russia and contribute to the cooperation and common development of the two countries.

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