VOICES FOR THE RAILS

Editors note：

The opening of the China-Laos Railway has received considerable attention from the people of both China and Laos. China Report ASEAN selected four articles from official representatives and experts sending messages and wishes to the cross-border railway.

Welcome to Laos on the Laos-China Railway

The year 2021 is significant for both China and Laos. While the year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries， the parties， governments and peoples of both countries are preparing for the opening of the LaosChina Railway on December 2， 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic haspummeled regional and globaleconomic development， especiallytourism. International arrivalsat destinations around the worldplunged by 74 percent comparedwith 2019. Despite that， all countries implemented strict measures toprevent and control the epidemicaccording to the specific nationalsituation. At the same time， manycountries rolled out policies todevelop tourism， create jobs， andincrease revenue， which contributed greatly to the recovery of the nationaleconomy.

The Laos-China Railway is of highhistoric value for both countries. Itrealizes synergy between Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and Laosstrategy to convert itself from a landlockedcountry to a land-linked hub and was included in the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025.

To accompany the opening ofthe Laos-China Railway， the Laogovernment developed a variety of tourism products targeting tourists from China and other countries. To guarantee the safety and win thetrust of tourists， the Lao government has focused on improving its services and implementing approved tourism and hotel sanitary standards. The government has also partnered with businesses to facilitate domestic travel. In March 2022， Laos is expected to launch a “travel bubble” scheme to open tourism to people from countries that have contained the COVID-19 pandemic. While implementing strict pandemic control measures， the Lao government will also launch a TravelCorridor program for countries with a vaccination rate of over 80 percent.

The Laos-China Railway stretches 400 kilometers in Laos， traversing LuangNamtha， Oudomxay， Luang Prabang， and Vientiane provinces and ending in the capital city of Vientiane. Along the railway， tourists can see places with beautiful scenery， abundant forest resources， landmark tourism attractions， and World Heritage sites. We will spare no efforts to protect tourists health and safety as they experience thecharacteristic culture and lifestyles of different ethnic groups of Laos.

On behalf of the Ministry of Information， Culture and Tourism， I would like to extend heartfelt appreciation to the Chinese government for its financial and talent support to Laos in developing the economy， infrastructure， and tourism. I hope that the friendship between Laos and China， as good neighbors， good friends， good comrades， and good partners， will last forever.

A Symbol of Laos-China Friendship

The Lao people and I are veryproud to witness the officialopening of the Laos-ChinaRailway. I highly commend therailways contribution to boostingsocial and economic developmentand tackling poverty problems inLaos. The railway will facilitatecommunication between Chinaand Laos and accelerate goodstransportation and the development of tourism at regional and sub-regional levels.

I am confident that the Laos-China Railway will advance thelong and stable development ofthe comprehensive strategic andcooperative partnership betweenthe two countries. Our bilateralrelations can be characterized asgood neighbors， good friends， goodcomrades， and good partners. We will play an important role in building the Laos-China community with a shared future. The biggest cooperationproject between the two countries， theLaos-China Railway is a symbol of the Laos-China friendship.

The railway was built to facilitatetrade， investment， and tourismdevelopment between Laos andChina as well as other regions andcountries. I believe the railway willalso become a great tool to turn Laosfrom a landlocked country to a land- linked hub at regional and sub-regional levels. The railway will helpLaos become a hub for transportation of industrial and agricultural products at lower prices and with higherefficiency.

Meanwhile， relevant departmentsof both countries need to join handson further studies to tap the potential of the railway and make it a greatercontributor to bilateral cooperation. Both sides should continue to improve the business environment， accelerate talent training， and increase qualityof service management to attractmore investment. Laos should staycommitted to drawing on advancedexperience and implementingcooperation agreements with Chinaas well as regional and internationalcooperation frameworks to createbenefits for the peoples of both countries.

Yunnan is the only Chinese province that borders Laos. The opening of the Laos-China Railway will make the province even more significant for bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Yunnan is one of the three Chinese provinces mentioned in an action plan on building a Laos-China community with a shared future and has priority in implementing relevant programs and projects. Yunnan also has geological and cultural advantages in exchange and communication， which could facilitate cooperation in multiple aspects including politics， security， economics， culture， and agriculture.

Yunnan Province boasts a great talent pool and is competitive in economics， science， and modern technologies， which means that it is capable of investment and trade cooperation with Laos in multiple fields. Now， the Laos-China Railway is another critical advantage for Yunnan Province because the rails are drawing both sides even closer.

China-Laos Railway： A Bridge of Bilateral Cooperation

The China-Laos Railway is a docking project between Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and Laos strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a landlinked hub. After opening to traffic， the railway will greatly facilitate opening and cooperation between China and Laos as well as other countries on the China-Indochina Peninsula.

The China-Laos Railway will help Laos embrace a brighter future. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of China-Laos diplomatic relations and the Year of China-Laos Friendship. This year is also the 35th anniversary of Laos reform and opening-up and it coincides with the first year of its 9th Five-year Plan period. History shows that opening-up can boost economic development and increase a countrys international influence. I am confident that the reform and opening-up of Laos will gain steamafter the opening of the China-Laos Railway.

The China-Laos Railway connects to the China-Europe Railway Express in the north and to the railway networks in Malaysia and Singapore in the south by crossing Thailands Nong Khai. An important component of the transportation alliance covering the China-Indochina Peninsula and ASEAN， the railway could potentially eliminate disadvantages hampering Laos development and help the countrys efforts to become a landlinked hub and advance its economic development by facilitating trade and investment through a regional transportation network.

Cooperation guarantees the smooth operation of the China-Laos Railway. A landmark program of cooperation between China and Laos， the railway constitutes an integral part to the middle route of the Pan-Asia Railway Network and will advance regional integration after opening to traffic. The railway will make both countries more capable of developing the China-Laos economic corridor and engaging in higher-level cooperation in investment， trade， and productioncapacity.

The cooperation project will drive the development and prosperity of regions along the railway as well as the industries of Laos， which will ultimately improve the livelihood of locals. Furthermore， the railway will advance opening-up and regional connectivity including the economic corridor between China and countries on the China-Indochina Peninsula and bring new development opportunities to the region. While the COVID-19 pandemic is still rampaging in the regional countries and threatening peoples health， cooperation is the only way to win the fight against the virus.

The China-Laos Railway will serve as a bridge for cooperation， greatly boost the comprehensive development of Laos， and offer new development opportunities for the China-Indochina Peninsula. China and Laos will join hands to promote the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind and work together to build an open， inclusive， clean， and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace， universal security， and common prosperity.

The Significance of the Laos-China Railway

December 2， 2021 marks the 46th anniversary of the establishment of the Lao Peoples Democratic Republic. Both Laos and China agreed to officially open the Laos-China Railway that day to celebrate the completion of a landmark project in building a Laos-China community with a shared future.

Embodying the spirit of the LaosChina community of shared future， the railway is of great significance for enhancing the Laos-China comprehensive strategic partnership and advancing the long and stable development of Laos-China bilateral relations featuring good neighbors， good friends， good comrades， and good partners. As a docking project between Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and Laos strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub， the Laos-China Railway is an integral part of building the Laos-China economic corridor.

For Laos， the railway is a large cooperation project with a total investment of US$5.9 billion. To effectively build the railway， the two sides established the Laos-China Railway Company Limited， a joint venture in which the Lao government holds 30 percent stake and the Chinese government holds 70 percent stake. Laos invested US$730 million including US$250 million from the Lao government and a US$480 million of loan from the ExportImport Bank of China. The interest rate is 2.3 percent.

According to relevant studies and information released bythe Department of Railway ofLao Ministry of Public Worksand Transport， the Laos-ChinaRailway will bring impressivebenefits to both countries.The internal rate of returnis about 6.3 percent， whichis within a reasonable rangeconsidering the railway isa large-scale infrastructureinvestment project. Thanksto the 2.3 percent interest rateoffered by the Export-ImportBank of China， the project isstill profitable for Laos in thelong term. In addition， the Laos- China Railway will also provide considerable indirect benefitswith an estimated economic return rate expected to reach 18.5 percent， higher than the international level.

The railway will bringdirect or indirect benefits toLaos， China， and neighboring countries by：

- boosting the development of relevant industries quickly and effectively as a largeinvestment project

- making Laos a hub for

regional transportation

- increasing transportation speed and flow of goods while lowering costs and risk

- mitigating thetransportation burden andlowering the damage rateof highways， decreasingoil imports， reducingenvironmental pollution，increasing the employment rate， and serving as an alternativepublic transport

- facilitating effective re-use of land and increasing the income of locals living alongthe railway and near railwaystations

- providing reasonablecompensation for farmerswhose land is requisitioned and locals affected by theconstruction

- creating jobs and ensuring the Lao people acquire newtechnologies

- attracting investment and increasing trade volume;

- attracting tourists fromneighboring countries，especially from southern andsouthwestern China as well asfrom northern and northeastern Thailand

- providing people moreoptions for products at lowerprices because the railway will increase efficiency and lower costs of goods transportation

- increasing services income including those involvedin warehousing， goodstransportation， insurance， taxes， etc.

Meanwhile， many problems are waiting to be solved afterthe railway opens.

The Laos-China Railwaycould affect existingtransportation services between provinces and cities along theline， especially air， bus， andtruck transport. Such serviceproviders could move to otherprovinces and cities that lackrail access.

The low costs andhigh efficiency of railwaytransportation will increasethe volume of goods fromneighboring countries arriving in Laos， thereby intensifyingcompetition. Relevantindustries must make in-time adjustments to avoid the negative impact.

In terms of tourism， theLaos-China Railway will bring a large volume of tourists， which makes it necessary to trainpeople in Laostourism industry to embrace modern concepts，learn new technologies， andadopt modern managementmethods.

The opening of the railwayrequires Laos to develop newsupportive products andservices as quickly as possible to meet the needs of partners andcustomers from neighboringcountries.

In my opinion， the Laos-China Railway will reduce Laoslogistics costs， make the country a regional transportation hub， and facilitatedevelopment of Laoshumanresources. The Laos-China Railway will boost high-quality social andeconomic development in Laos，thereby enhancing the countrysinfluence on the internationalstage.

（Special thanks to Laomagazine DokChampa which contributed to this article.）