China’s ambitious Belt & Road Initiative, or BRI, is a win-win for participating countries, Qixing Lu, deputy director, Shanghai Free Trade Zone Business Committee, told Breakbulk Asia delegates Thursday.

“We don’t want a surplus, we want balanced trade, so if we export more, we need to import more,” he said. “We want to increase trade, using our industrial base and improved supply chains for both front haul and back haul trades,” he said.

More than 70 countries are participating in BRI, and Chinese companies plowed more than $15 billion into the initiative last year, according to Beijing’s figures.