As China-backed belt and road railway opens, high-speed change heads to Laos

The 1,000km-long railway linking Vientiane to China’s Kunming promises to cut freight costs and bring an influx of Chinese tourists and cash into Laos

Its opening is seen as a boon for Beijing’s belt and road plans for the region, but not everyone in the impoverished Southeast Asian nation is on board

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A high-speed train pulls into Vientiane railway station on the China-Laos railway. Photo: Xinhua

Published: 11:00am, 2 Dec 2021Updated: 11:56am, 2 Dec 2021

A high-speed railway linking China to Laos is set to officially open on Friday, swinging open the doors to a landlocked country desperate to haul itself out of poverty and slotting into place a pivotal piece of Beijing’s belt and road plans for Southeast Asia.

Constructed in five years using Chinese engineering and manpower for a total cost of some US$9 billion, the 1,000km-long railway from Kunming in China’s Yunnan province to the Laotian capital of Vientiane cuts through mountains and ravines via dozens of tunnels and bridges.

With a top speed of 160km/h, trains on the line will be capable of whisking tourists and businesspeople from China to Laos in less than a day, as exporters in the Southeast Asian nation look forward to quickly sending their goods back north.

A map of the new China-Laos railway, emphasising the three sections in which it was built. Image: SCMP

The line is also the first node in Beijing’s ambitious plan for a rail network linking southern China to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and ultimately Singapore.

“The railway has turned Laos’ disadvantage as a landlocked nation into an advantage,” said Valy Vetsapong, Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry vice-president, citing an expected logistics and export boom.

“Laos used to pay high prices for freight, but now we’re going to be transporting freight ourselves,” she said, adding the country with a GDP per capita of US$2,600 “will become an investment battlefield for surrounding countries all because of the railway”.