France's Le Monde: China's investment helps Laos break out of the landlocked country's isolation
On the 29th, Le Monde published an article titled "China is increasingly increasing its investment in Laos," reporting on some situations about Laos accelerating infrastructure construction and expanding foreign economic cooperation. Le Monde stated that China once funded its first regional train, helping it get rid of isolation.
Lao is located along the Mekong River. The small country, which has been quiet for a long time, its capital Vientiane, is now beginning to become active at the Beijing time rhythm. Thanks to the train built by China in 2021 and put into operation in April 2023, it now takes only three and a half hours to reach the Chinese border, and ten hours to reach Kunming, the capital of Yunnan Province.
The article introduced that Laos is one of the main power export countries in Southeast Asia, which is the result of its Southeast Asian battery strategy. Le Monde said that in February 2023, the Zhongrun Guangneng Laos base was established in the Sisattanak Comprehensive Development Zone in Vientiane, Laos, and it took only seven months to complete the entire line, and began to be put into production in 2024.
In August 2024, the Lao government signed an agreement with China Nuclear Energy Technology (Laos) Co., Ltd. in Vientiane for the development of the photovoltaic section of the second phase of the clean energy base for interconnection in northern Laos.
The second example is the Wenhua Hotel. Le Monde said that in Vientiane, a five-star hotel under the China Wanda Group - a recently completed glass steel structure tower - has now become the tallest building in Laos, reaching 138 meters.
Le Monde summarized that whether good or bad, China is doing its utmost to change one of the poorest countries in the world. French journalists also said that China, guided by the concept of a "community with a shared future for mankind," positions itself as the main provider of development opportunities and solutions, and thus dominates its "new Silk Road" built in the surrounding regions.
The article concludes that Laos' rich agricultural reserves and natural resources can now be transported into the Chinese market via trains or trucks, thus prompting China to increase its investment in Laos.
Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1836303610759241/
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