China’s President Xi Jinping and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulithvia inaugurated the Laos-China Railway on 3 December 2021 through a video link.
Despite its official launch, the operations limited passengers and emphasized cargo services due to China’s Covid Restriction Policy. Laos is Southeast Asia’s only landlocked nation. The railway will transform Laos into a land-linked country.
The benefit of the railway is it will cut travel duration from Vientiane to the borders of China. The other benefits include 110,000 new jobs created and building new 2,000 km of roads and canals. The cost of logistics will come down by 40% to 50%. In a positive move, the number of Chinese tourists is expected to grow by 50%.
The 642 km-Laos-China railway will start from Kunming and ending in Vient...
