Xi inaugurates Laos rail link

Flagship project connects Southeast Asian nation with China's networks

President Xi Jinping and his Lao counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith jointly inaugurated on Friday the China-Laos Railway, a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative, as both sides pledged to enable the line to usher in more benefits for the two nations and people in the region.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, met with Thongloun, general secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and president of Laos, via video link from Beijing.

The two leaders then witnessed the opening of the railway that connects Kunming in Yunnan province with the Lao capital Vientiane, a flagship project for bilateral friendship that connects the landlocked Southeast Asian nation with China's railway networks and enhances Laos' access to global markets.

The 1,035-kilometer line, which runs through lush tropical mountains and across the Mekong River, will shorten the journey from Kunming to Vientiane to about 10 hours.

"With the opening of the railway, the high mountains are no longer high and the long journeys are no longer long from Kunming to Vientiane," Xi said at the opening ceremony.

He urged both sides to keep up the high standards in the maintenance and operation of the railway, saying that the regions along the railway must be properly developed to ensure the line can benefit people from both nations.

The future of bilateral friendship lies in the youth, and the foundation for interconnectivity lies in people-to-people exchanges, Xi said, adding that Beijing stands ready to train more high-caliber talent for the "road of China-Laos friendship".

He noted that this year marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral relations, saying that the key to the time-tested ties lies in the fact that both sides uphold common ideals, trust each other, stand in solidarity and share weal and woe.

"Standing at a new historic starting point, China is willing to step up strategic dialogue with Laos, jointly promote the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative and continue building an unbreakable China-Laos community with a shared future," he said.

The fact that the two nations uphold the leadership of the Communist Party and a socialist direction is the essential feature of bilateral relations, Xi said, adding that both sides should jointly safeguard the political and institutional security of the two nations.

China stands ready to bolster strategic dialogue with Laos, deepen exchanges in State governance and help the nation in its development to the best of its capacity, he said.

The president highlighted the need to enhance the coordinating role of the joint committee for the China-Laos Economic Corridor to move forward and boost the overall level of bilateral pragmatic cooperation.

It is important to further cooperation in new types of infrastructure, scale up the level of interconnectivity in energy and work more closely in sectors including agriculture, finance and economic development zones, he said.

Beijing will continue to provide Laos with support in COVID-19 vaccines and medical supplies, bolster cooperation in health and poverty reduction in rural areas and further youth, cultural and local level exchanges, he said.

Xi pledged to work with Laos in practicing true multilateralism, implementing the Global Development Initiative and moving forward in the forging of an even closer community with a shared future between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Thongloun hailed the opening of the railway as the start of a dream for a modern railway in Laos, saying that the dream of the Lao people has finally come true.

"It is a moment to be proud of. More importantly, the opening of the railway is of monumental significance to further the traditional friendship between the two Parties, nations, and peoples and to comprehensive strategic cooperation," Thongloun said.

"We owe this to the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by General Secretary Xi," he said.

Laos stands ready to conduct even closer high-level exchanges with China, step up strategic communication and maximize the economic benefits from the railway, he said.

He added that China has always been a key pillar of global and regional peace and stability and always followed a foreign policy of peace and friendship, adding that Laos will firmly support China's righteous position on its core interests and the nation's successful hosting of the Winter Olympics.