China launches its first cross-border BRI train with Laos
The Hindu
With a maximum operating speed of 160-km per hour, the travel time from Kunming to Vientiane takes about 10 hours
China on Friday launched the first cross-border train of its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Laos, which Beijing says will help the small and only landlocked country in South East Asia turn into a land-linked hub, boost regional connectivity and supply chain resilience.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Laos’ counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith jointly witnessed the opening of the China-Laos railway via video link on Friday.
The first train of the China-Laos Railway left Vientiane soon after the cross-border railway was officially put into operation, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
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