Engineering feat gives infrastructure a boost and shows the continent that Chinese expertize could play a bigger role

Switzerland inspired its European neighbors on June 1 by announcing the completion of the world's longest traffic tunnel, linking northern and southern Europe.

The landlocked country is expected to gain tremendous benefits from the multibillion euro Gotthard Base Tunnel through the heart of the Swiss Alps, which will be used by passenger and freight trains to travel to and from Italy.

The tunnel, which is more than 57 kilometers long, cost more than $12 billion and took 17 years to complete. Leading European political figures such as German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, preoccupied with the continuing headaches of terrorism, the refugee influx and economic stagnation, took time out to celebrate the engineering miracle with Swiss leaders on June 1.

In Europe, transforming such an engineering feat from a grand vision into reality is not easy, as various constraints ranging from complicated environmental impact assessments to the conflicting interests of different parties and laborious approval procedures have to be overcome.

Even smaller projects face hurdles. In 2010, the authorities in Stutgartt, Germany, decided to invest 6 billion euros ($6.8 billion) to turn the area around its main train station into a business hub, but the plan failed to go ahead when more than half the local population voted against it in a referendum.

Such hurdles have halted many infrastructure projects in the European Union, although many of its members desperately need such investments to rekindle their economies and create jobs.

In this sense, the completion of this Swiss project has offered well-timed food for thought for other European countries.

To link Asia with the EU, which is the aim of China's Silk Road Economic Belt, apart from speeding up approval procedures, it is necessary for the EU to rethink what infrastructure projects are needed and how to link them with regional economic recovery and integration.

EU member countries are eager to launch big projects to boost the regional economy, and China and the EU have been in negotiations to set up a joint fund to invest in infrastructure projects.

China has the capital and expertise. Over the decades, the country has accumulated tremendous engineering expertise, including from construction of the Three Gorges Hydropower Plant, long pipelines to transport oil and natural gas from western parts of China to the east and south, as well as hundreds of thousands of kilometers of railways and highways.

This is a winning combination for many European countries. Britain is already discussing plans for a high-speed railway and a nuclear power station with China. And the Czech Republic, another landlocked country, has indicated its intention to cooperate with China on transport infrastructure, which could help this Central European country connect with the rest of Europe.

Coincidentally, Switzerland recently became an observer to the 16+1 framework between Central and Eastern Europe and China, under which both sides have already started infrastructure cooperation.

By making good use of the experience gathered in the tunnel project, Switzerland could join with China to provide timely and valuable input to help realize fast development in the 16 countries in Central and Eastern Europe. Moreover, such cooperation would be useful in improving the infrastructure in Western Europe.

Both China and the EU should look at the bigger picture when considering future infrastructure and engineering projects. In that context, the admiration of the Swiss project's success by European leaders is hopefully meaningful.

The author is deputy editor of China Daily European Weekly. Contact the writer at fujing@chinadaily.com.cn