A $6 billion (approximately 890 billion yen) railroad will extend from the outskirts of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, an economy smaller than the US state of Vermont, toward the Chinese border.
Further south, the King of Malaysia connects Singapore withhigh speed railway constructionWe are looking for Chinese investors.
In Vietnam, which is at loggerheads with China over territorial claims in the South China Sea, three $6.3 billion Chinese-built railways are central to efforts to strengthen the domestic economy and regional trade ties.
They are part of a high-speed rail initiative that will eventually connect China’s manufacturing hub to Singapore.
China-Laos Railway (April 2024, Laos)
Photographer: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
Supporters of these projects say it often takes decades to justify the upfront cost, while critics say they will never pay for their investment.
They argue that these projects, which primarily serve China’s economic and geopolitical interests, are “debt traps” set by China that will leave poorer countries burdened.
In any case, new and planned rail networks across Southeast Asia are the latest sign of China’s growing presence as a major donor, even as the United States lags far behind in its role in the region. This is an example of
China’s Railway Ambition
Proposed rail routes across Southeast Asia
Sources: World Bank; Laos-China Railway Company; OpenStreetMap
Malaysian Transport Minister Roque said in an interview with Bloomberg in Kuala Lumpur that the Chinese government has “promoted railway development” and “connected China with other countries on the Asian continent.”
global south
The burden of expensive infrastructure will be particularly heavy on countries like Laos, which is hosting an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit this week.
However, from the perspective of Laos, one of Asia’s poorest countries, the China-Laos Railway, which connects Vientiane and Kunming, China, not only saves travel time and costs, but is also safer than roads.means of transportationIt is also accompanied by
Since opening three years ago, it has carried about 6 million passengers and 9.5 million tons of cargo, according to data provided by the railway’s operating company. Laos is waiving visa fees for Chinese tourists in a bid to revitalize its tourism industry.
The first express freight train connecting China, Laos, Thailand and Malaysia will depart from a station in Chengdu, China in April.
Photographer: Zhang Lang/China News Service/VCG/Getty Images
Despite doubts about its economic sustainability, the China-Laos Railway has been cited as a successful example of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s One Belt, One Road initiative.
The Belt and Road Initiative supports expensive and useless projects, such as the $823 million light rail project in Nigeria, and forces countries like Sri Lanka to borrow heavily and default on their debts. It has become a target of criticism because it is a contributing factor.
However, countries in the so-called “Global South” such as Indonesia and Brazil still seek rail projects, and China is often the partner of choice.
Railway projects that revitalize tourism and trade are attracting even more attention as a means of supporting the resilience of supply chains at a time when global trade is entering an important phase.
This is a sharp change from several years ago, when many Belt and Road projects in Asia were perceived to be unfair or corrupt.
In 2018, then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mahathir halted three Belt and Road projects, including a $20 billion railway, calling it “a new version of colonialism.”
Director of the Griffith Asia InstituteChristoph Nedpil Wang“China has a great ability to see railways as part of a broader story, rather than as individual financially viable projects,” he said.
national security
Pieces that were previously disparate are now beginning to come together.
China has already built Southeast Asia’s first high-speed rail network in Jakarta, with a total construction cost of $7.2 billion. The project opened with fanfare last year in a metropolis plagued by traffic congestion.
In July this year, Thailand will conduct a trial flight between Bangkok and Vientiane.passenger serviceStart. This operation precedes the high-speed railway that is scheduled to connect to China via Laos by 2028.
The railway being built by China to connect Malaysia’s east and west coasts is targeted for completion by the end of 2026. Malaysia’s Anwar government has proposed linking it to Thailand’s rail network.
Even Vietnam, which has many grievances with China over the South China Sea, is participating in these plans. Communist Party General Secretary To Lam signed an agreement on railway cooperation with President Xi in August.
Highlighting China’s role in the construction of three railways connecting the two countries, the total amount connecting Vientiane and Ha Tinh province in central Vietnam$6.3 billionChina supported China’s participation in railway construction.
China-Laos Railway (July)
Photographer:Yi Ding/Xinhua News Agency/Getty Images
Expanding the railway network also provides a new means for China to demonstrate its ability to guarantee national security. The China-Laos railway is already being used to transport tanks and armored vehicles during joint military exercises. ASEAN may specifically address this issue at its meeting this week.
China’s expanding infrastructure projects are also being watched closely in Washington. The United States touts its efforts to expand infrastructure development in Asia as highly transparent and low-risk. The highlight is the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (ＤＦＣ) is a port renovation project in Sri Lanka that received a loan of $553 million from Japan.
Meanwhile, China is rethinking the way it finances infrastructure after suffering defaults in countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Even if the United States launches new measures, China has the greatest financial power that developing countries can rely on, and countries will still feel the benefits of cooperation with China.
China-Laos Railway Station (Vientiane, April)
Photographer: Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
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