老撾：強基建 方能聯世界

黎敏

對于東盟大多數國家而言，他們都有加強交通基礎設施建設的意愿，作為東盟中唯一的內陸國，老撾的這一意愿顯得更為迫切。通過制定“變陸鎖國為陸聯國”的國家戰略，老撾向世界大聲宣告著她希望聯通世界的決心。

從共建“一帶一路”，到關注國際陸海貿易新通道（以下簡稱“陸海新通道”）建設，從參與瀾湄合作、泛北部灣經濟合作，到借勢中國—東盟博覽會，老撾正依托自身聯通中國與多個東盟國家的區位優勢，在各個重要的舞臺上為自身交通基建謀求發展機會，以贏得聯通世界的入場券。近期，在接受本刊記者專訪時，老撾萬象市副市長兼計劃與投資廳廳長普孔·班那翁也表達了這樣的意愿。

加強交通基建，老撾發展的必然選擇

老撾北接中國云南省，東臨越南，可連接越南峴港、海防，南靠柬埔寨，西與泰國、緬甸相連，可連接泰國曼谷、林查班港;位于連結中國與東盟國家的中間陸路通道上。

“眾所周知，老撾是一個內陸國家，這對于我們要打造的區域陸路運輸樞紐而言，既是機遇也是挑戰。”普孔·班那翁說，“交通互聯互通是把老撾從‘陸鎖國變為‘陸聯國的一個前提條件，通過鐵路、公路與鄰國連結，老撾能夠提供更多的轉口路線。因此，我們強烈同意交通基礎設施的互聯互通是‘一帶一路建設的關鍵問題。”

而在資金方面，老撾仍然期待私營部門，包括外國投資者參與老撾的交通基礎設施建設。“老撾政府把發展國民經濟作為社會經濟發展的重要抓手，希望通過包括國際社會在內的力量對交通基礎設施建設予以支持，以便利人民的出行和貿易，帶動旅游業和投資的發展。”普孔·班那翁說。

而在老撾基礎設施建設的過程中，我們不難看到中國企業的身影。

中老合作，助力老撾聯通世界

“‘一帶一路，有你有我，大小問題，共同面對……”這是3年前老撾搖滾神曲《“一帶一路”》中的歌詞，唱出了中老兩國的深厚情誼。

“老中兩國是全面戰略合作伙伴，毗鄰而居，正在積極構建命運共同體，我們大力支持‘一帶一路建設，它將為老撾和首都萬象帶來發展紅利。”普孔·班那翁說。2016年，中老兩國簽署共建“一帶一路”合作文件，并于次年簽署了共建中老經濟走廊的合作文件。2019年4月，兩國又簽署了《關于構建中老命運共同體行動計劃》，在地區和國際上具有重要引領和示范意義。這些都推動著中老關系持續向前發展，讓兩國關系處于歷史最好時期。

打開地圖可以看到，建設中的中老經濟走廊由西北向東南，宛如一把鑰匙，不但打開了老撾“陸鎖國”這把鎖，也在中南半島腹部打造了一條輻射緬甸、泰國、柬埔寨、越南等國的通道。中老經濟走廊與中老鐵路相伴而生，惠及當地，對驅動老撾經濟社會發展、推動中老命運共同體建設具有深遠意義。

“截至2020年8月，老中鐵路已經完成了91%的建設，有望在2021年竣工。這條鐵路建成后，將成為連接老撾和中國、其他東盟國家的重要通道。”普孔·班那翁說，“這條具有歷史意義的鐵路，必將使老撾從‘陸鎖國變為‘陸聯國，在未來成為區域和國際互聯互通的紐帶，促進社會經濟、旅游業、外商投資發展，并為消除貧困創造條件，為人民創造就業機會。它將是一個進一步改善我們城市及地區發展的偉大機會。”

據悉，在2019年舉行的第二屆“一帶一路”國際合作高峰論壇設施聯通分論壇上，中國、老撾、泰國簽署了三國政府間關于萬象—廊開鐵路連接線的合作備忘錄。通過三方鐵路的銜接，為老撾又打開了一扇擁抱世界的大門。

目前由中國與東盟國家共同打造的“陸海新通道”，在陸海貿易、旅游和人文交流等方面正在發揮重要作用。“老中兩國在《關于構建老中命運共同體行動計劃》中提出，要適時將老撾納入‘陸海新通道建設。”普孔·班那翁說，“老撾對陸海新通道的發展予以了越來越多的關注，希望通過這條新通道，老撾能加強與中國及其他東盟國家的互聯互通，并進一步推動港口之間的合作。”

2020年8月，在瀾滄江—湄公河合作第三次領導人會議上，瀾湄合作成功實現了與“陸海新通道”的對接，這些利好都為老撾參與“陸海新通道”建設提供了新的契機。

園區合作，助力老撾產業發展

經濟特區是老撾產業和經濟發展的重點，也是中老經濟走廊建設的關鍵，自2002年起，老撾在全國共建有12個經濟特區，目前與中老經濟走廊及“陸海新通道”建設最為相關的經濟特區主要是磨憨—磨丁經濟合作區和萬象賽色塔綜合開發區。

磨憨—磨丁經濟合作區處于泛亞鐵路中線、昆曼公路、磨萬高速等交通網絡與中國西南交通網絡無縫對接的重要節點，同時也是中老泰三國陸路貨物運輸、跨境旅游的中轉站和集散地。而隨著中老鐵路和“一帶一路”建設的不斷推進，萬象賽色塔綜合開發區也吸引著越來越多的企業前來投資。2018年，由老中聯合投資有限公司和青島港招商局國際集裝箱碼頭有限公司共同出資組建的老撾萬象賽色塔運營管理有限公司正式揭牌運營，負責賽色塔綜合開發區的運營和管理工作。

普孔·班那翁表示，盡管當前全球經貿形勢面臨變化，但老撾對于外商投資依舊持開放態度。在中老關系良好發展的基礎上，希望有更多中國企業到老撾投資興業，共享老撾發展機遇。

Most ASEAN countries have the desire to strengthen their transport infrastructure construction， and Laos， the only landlocked country in ASEAN， has its wishes to express more straightforward in this regard. Formulating the national strategy of “transforming Laos the landlocked country into a maritime transit and achieve regional and international connectivity in the future”， Laos is declaring to the world its determination to connect itself to the rest of the world.

From building the Belt and Road Initiative， to concerning the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor （NILSTC） and from the participation of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation to the China-ASEAN Expo， Laos is sparing no efforts to connect to the rest of the world by seeking opportunities in important stages to develope its own transportation infrastructure， highlighting its location advantages of linking China and ASEAN countries. Recently， in an exclusive interview with China-ASEAN Panorama， H.E. Phoukhong Bannavong， Vice Mayor of Vientiane and Director-General of Planning and Investment of Vientiane Capital， Lao PDR， also expressed such wishes.

Strengthening transportation infrastructure is a must for Laos development

With Yunnan Province of China in the north， Vietnams Danang and Haiphong Vietnam in the east， Cambodia in the south， and Thailand and Myanmar in the west that connects to Bangkok and Laem Chabang port in Thailand， Laos is located in the middle land corridor connecting China and ASEAN countries.

“As is known to all， Lao PDR is located in the central Asian countries and a landlocked country. From such special points， Lao PDR has both opportunities and challenges for transforming Laos into the central connectivity for road transport links between regions，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “The link is the initial need for Lao PDR to be a land link country for maritime connectivity supporting export-import goods from foreign countries， including transit to the 3rd countries， especially ASEAN countries which transport goods by sea， railway and vehicle. For this reason， we strongly agree that the connectivity of the transport infrastructure is a key issue of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.”

In terms of funding， Laos still expects the private sector， including foreign investors， to participate in the construction of Laos transportation infrastructure. “The Lao government has implemented the national economic development as the important point for social-economic development， including international supports the basic transport development to promote peoples travelling and trading， and promoting tourism and investment，” said Phoukhong Bannavong.

In the work of infrastructure construction of Laos， it is not difficult to see the presence of Chinese enterprises.

China-Laos cooperation helps Laos connect the rest of the world

“The Belt and Road Initiative， concerns you and me， and problems of big or small， lets face together.” are the lyrics of a rock and roll hit song of Laos entitled The Belt and Road released 3 years ago that shows the deep friendship between China and Laos. The China-Laos cooperation has a long history， with friendly exchanges and cooperation continuously deepened.

“Lao PDR is a long-term strategic partner， a neighbor and is in the same fate， therefore， we strongly support the initiated ideas on the Belt and Road of Chinese President Xi Jinping， which the initiative has brought benefits to Lao PDR and Vientiane Capital，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. In 2016， China and Laos signed a cooperation document on the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2017， the two countries also signed cooperation documents on jointly building the China-Laos Economic Corridor. In April 2019， both countries signed the Action Plan for Building a China-Laos Community of Shared Future， which is of important leading and exemplary significance in the regional and international fields. All these efforts have promoted the continuous development of the China-Laos relationship and taken it now to the best period of history.

Opening the map， one can see that the China-Laos Economic Corridor under construction running from northwest to southeast looks like a key， which not only opens Laos， the “landlocked country”， but also creates in the hinterland of Indochina Peninsula a corridor that connects Myanmar， Thailand， Cambodia， Vietnam and other countries. The economic corridor between China and Laos is being built along with the China-Laos railways， which is expected to benefit the local economy， and has far-reaching significance in driving the economic and social development of Laos and promoting the construction of the community of shared future of China and Laos.

“In 2021， the China-Laos railway project is expected to be completed. With the most recent progress in August 2020， it has completed 91% of the plan. After completion， the railway will be an important route in Lao PDR and connection between China and ASEAN countries with Laos as the connection，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “For this historic railway， it will surely transform Lao PDR the landlocked country into a maritime transit achieve regional and international connectivity in the future， and promote socio-economic development， tourism and foreign investment; It will also create conditions for the poverty eradication mission， create jobs for the people and the key potential to lead our nation out of the poverty as planned and it will be a great opportunity to further improve our cities.”

At the sub-forum of facility connectivity of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in 2019， China， Laos and Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation of the three national governments on the Vientiane-Nong Khai Railway Line. The connection of the tripartite railways will open one more door for Laos to embrace the world.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the NILSTC jointly built by China and ASEAN countries is playing an important role in land and sea trade， tourism and people-to-people exchanges. “In April 2019， in signing the Action Plan for Building a China-Laos Community of Shared Future， the two countries proposed to “include Laos in building the NILSTC，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “Therefore， we attached increasing attention and importance on the development of the NILSTC. We hope that through the new corridor， Laos can strengthen connectivity with China and other ASEAN countries， and further improve cooperation among ports.”

In August 2020， the successful alignment of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation with the NILSTC at the 3rd Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Leader Meeting provided a new opportunity for Laos to participate in the NILSTC.

Development zone cooperation helps Laos? industrial development

Special economic zones are the focus of Laos industrial and economic development， and also the key to the construction of China-Laos Economic Corridor. Since 2002， Laos has created 12 special economic zones throughout the country. At present， the special economic zones that are most closely related to the construction of China-Laos Economic Corridor and the NILSTC are Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone and Saysettha Development Zone in Vientiane.

Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone is an important node for the seamless connection between the transportation networks such as the middle line of Pan Asian Railway， Kunming-Mandalay highway and Mohan-Vientiane expressway， and the transportation network of Southwest China. It is also a transit station and distribution center for land freight transportation and cross-border tourism of China， Laos and Thailand. With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Laos railway， Saysettha Development Zone is attracting more and more enterprises to make investments. In 2018， Vientiane Saysettha Operation and Management Co.， Ltd.， jointly funded by Laos-China United Investment Co.， Ltd. and Qingdao Port China Merchants International Container Terminal Co.， Ltd.， was officially opened for operation which handles the management of Saysettha Development Zone.

Phoukhong Bannavong said that despite the changing current global economic and trade situation， Laos is still open to foreign investment， on the basis of the sound development of China-Laos relations. He? looks forward to more Chinese enterprises will invest in Laos and share the development opportunities of Laos.