The launch of a new transit yard for the China-Laos Railway is expected to improve the efficiency of freight transport between China and ASEAN, Zhao Lijian, a spokesperson for China’s Foreign Minister, said on Monday, after the new freight transit yard for the China-Laos Railway was launched at Vientiane South Station on Friday.
The completion of the track station marks the connection of the railways of China, Laos and Thailand. Moving forward, the cross-border freight train operated by the China-Laos Railway, to the North, can reach a number of Chinese cities and logistics distribution centers connected to the China-Europe Railway Express network, and, to the south, it can reach Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore, Zhao noted.
Opening to traffic last December, the China-Laos Railway is a landmark high-quality joint project under the Belt and Road Initiative.
As of June 30, the China-Laos Railway had carried 4 million passengers and around 5 million tons of freight, including 0.8 million tons of cross-border goods, according to Zhao.
More than 20 Chinese cities and provinces have operated cross-border railways along the route, which has carried more than 100 kinds of goods such as fruit, photovoltaic products and electronic products to more than 10 countries and regions along the route, he added.
“The China-Laos Railway has become an accelerator to boost regional connectivity, a new engine to boost economic cooperation, and a vivid example of the cooperation between China and ASEAN to promote the high-quality development of the BRI,” Zhao said.
Since the BRI was put forward, China has formed more than 3,000 cooperation projects with 149 countries and regions and 32 international organizations with an investment scale of around one trillion dollars.
“We welcome more countries and regions to join the BRI cooperation and share the opportunities and benefits brought by strengthened connectivity,” Zhao said.
China is willing to work with members of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) to implement the agreements reached at the seventh Lancang-Mekong Cooperation Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Myanmar, and jointly construct the demonstration zones for the high-quality BRI cooperation and bringing more benefits and contribution to regional prosperity, he added.
A China-Laos freight express train, the first train operating under a new model of “fast access,” arrives in Chengdu, capital of Southwest China’s Sichuan Province on May 10, 2022. A ceremony was held the same day to welcome the train’s arrival. The train was loaded with 25 containers filled with 500 tons of tapioca. Photo: cnsphoto
