2nd anniversary of China-Laos Railway marked in Yunnan

December 3 marks the 2nd anniversary of the opening of China-Laos Railway.

As a signature project of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the international railway has greatly facilitated exchanges and cooperation between China, Laos and other Southeast Asian countries since its opening on December 3, 2021.

Rising freight efficiency

As of December 2, China-Laos Railway has transported a total of 29.1 million tons of goods to 12 BRI partner countries such as Laos, Thailand, Vietnam and Myanmar, as well as to the major cities of 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China.

Now cross-border goods on the railway have expanded from some 10 varieties in the initial stage to more than 2,700, including electronics, photovoltaic parts, telecommunication devices, automobiles, and many more.

The railway also drove the development of industrial parks in Laos, such as Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone and Boten Special Economic Zone.

Passenger services favored

As of December 2, China-Laos Railway has handled 24.2 million passengers.

The cross-border passenger service via China-Laos Railway was launched on April 13, 2023. So far, the railway has served 95,000 cross-border passengers from 72 countries and regions.

The China-Laos railway has accelerated the flows of people, cargos, capital and information, creating a large number of job opportunities.

China and Laos have cooperated in training railway talents for Laos, and nearly 90% of the 800 plus trained Laotians have identified positions in operating China-Laos Railway. They are the first generation of Lao railway talents.

Road of development, happiness and friendship

Two years on, the railway has grown to be a “road of development, happiness, and friendship".

Also on December 3, the Shanghai-Yunnan Lingang Science Park opened in Kunming on the occasion of the railway’s second birthday. The science park is jointly run by Shanghai Lingang Economic Development Group and Kunming Economic Development Zone.

Parties in relevance sent their best wishes to China-Laos Railway, while looking forward to the new opportunities it would bring.

Lao youth Kuwait now studies at Yunnan Agricultural University, and his sister used to study at Yunnan University. After graduation, she returned to Laos to be a technician responsible for train maintenance on the China-Laos Railway.

Kuwait said: "In the future, I hope to take my family to China for extensive visits, and I also hope to bring my Chinese friends to Laos for the same.”

At the opening of Shanghai-Yunnan science park, entrepreneurs said they plan to seize the opportunity and join hands with Yunnan for more cooperation under the BRI.

Li Mingcheng, sales director of Shanghai Jizhen Intelligent Technology, said the company plans to build a factory in Mohan for exporting 3D printing products, taking advantage of the convenient railway, geographic location and policy benefits at the China-Laos border town.

Jiang Haitao, water-treatment director at the Shanghai-based ProMinent Group, said he’ll use the China-Laos Railway express trains to sell their smart drinking-water purification system to Yunnan, Laos and other neighboring countries.

By YICC reporters