Keywords to Understand China

“China-Laos Railway”

in April 2010， an agreement was reached between China and Laos on the first China-Laos railway to be financed， built and operated jointly by both countries； and it was approved by the Lao parliament in October 2012. A groundbreaking ceremony was held in December 2015 for the Lao section of the line. The construction of China-Laos railway officially got underway on December 25， 2016， following a ceremony held in the northern Lao city of Luang Prabang. This planned line is Chinas first overseas railway project to provide a direct link to Chinas internal rail network， and the second such project – after the JakartaBandung rail link in Indonesia – to be built with Chinese technology and equipment to meet Chinese standards. It will also be an important section of the pan-Asia railway network.

Starting from the Mohan-Boten crossing at the ChinaLaos border， the 400-km-long line will run south to Vientiane， the capital of Laos. It is scheduled to open in 2021， with a design speed of 160 km per hour and 62.7 percent of the railway will consist of bridges and tunnels.

The investment in the project will be about 40 billion yuan （$5.76 billion）， 70 percent of which comes from China and the remainder from Laos. Once in service， the railway will significantly boost the economic and social development of Laos， facilitate local transportation and improve its efficiency， and expand cooperation between China and Laos in areas such as trade， investment and tourism. It will contribute to the development of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area， and inject new life into the economy in Chinas southwest region.

“China-Thailand Railway”

The China-Thailand railway will be Thailands first standard gauge railway to be jointly built by China and Thailand.

Its planned length is 900 km. A “rice for high-speed rail” plan was first proposed by both countries in 2012 during the visit of Thai Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to China. The plan was then shelved as a result of political turmoil in Thailand. After approval by the Thai Parliament on December 6， 2014， a memorandum of understanding for the rail project was signed on December 19. The signing was witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha. Formal consultation on the project followed.

A ground-breaking ceremony was held in Thailand on December 19， 2015. The construction of the Bangkok-Kaeng Khoi section began in early 2016， and is scheduled to be completed in three years. The entire rail system is expected to be operational in five years.

This rail cooperation project will be a showcase for effective alignment between Chinas Belt and Road Initiative and Thailands infrastructure development plans. Serving Thailands northeastern regions and covering major cities， the network will be a great boom to economic development and standards of living in those regions.

“Karot Hydropower Project”

The Karot hydropower project is located on the Jhelum River， one of the rivers of the Indus River System in Northern Pakistan， about 55 km east of Islamabad. It is the first hydropower project implemented under the Belt and Road Initiative， and the first project financed by the Silk Road Fund since its inception in 2014. It is also one of the priority projects of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and the largest green field investment project ever undertaken overseas by a Chinese company.

The project is being developed on a build-operatetransfer basis. Started at the end of 2015， it is scheduled to be operational by 2020. After completion， it will be operated by the construction contractor for 30 years， after which the ownership will be transferred to the Pakistani government at no cost.

With an investment of $1.65 billion， the power station will have an installed capacity of 720 MW and an average annual output of 3.2 GWh. In addition to power generation， it will help flood prevention and sediment control， and improve downstream and reservoir area transport services. The project is expected to create more than 2，000 new jobs， and will spur coordinated and upgraded development in related sectors.

“Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway”

The 471-km-long Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway is the first section of a planned East Africa railway network. Passenger trains travel at 120 km per hour， while freight trains run at 80 km per hour. Connecting Nairobi， the capital city of Kenya， with Mombasa， the largest port in East Africa， it is the first rail line in Kenya in a century.

The project started in October 2014， and the railway opened to traffic on June 1. It cuts the travel time from Mombasa to Nairobi from over 10 hours to a little more than four hours.

A long-term masterplan envisions a rail system serving six East African countries， namely， Kenya， Tanzania， Uganda， Rwanda， Burundi and South Sudan. This modern network will help promote economic development in East Africa and beyond. Statistics indicate that construction of the Mombasa-Nairobi section has created nearly 30，000 jobs in Kenya and boosted annual GDP growth by 1.5 percent. The cost of movement of goods is expected to be reduced by 40 percent after the completion of this initial project.

On May 31， Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the passenger train service of the railway.

“China Railway Express to Europe”

The launch of a rail freight service from the Chinese city Chongqing via the Alashankou border crossing in Xinjiang through Central Asia to Europe in March 2011 ushered in a new era for freight on rail as an alternative to shipping by sea or air. China-Europe rail cargo transport has subsequently gained rapid traction， fueled by the rollout of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The importance of Chinas rail link to Europe was highlighted in a white paper issued by the Chinese government in March 2015 entitled Joining Hands to Build a Silk Road Economic Belt and a 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road – Vision and Actions. The name “China Railway Express” was formally introduced on June 8， 2016， for all Europe-bound trains.

There are currently 40 service lines running through Xinjiang， Inner Mongolia and Northeast border crossings to destinations in Central Asia， Russia， Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe. With the launch of the YiwuLondon line in January 2017， the trans-Eurasian network now extends to 15 cities in 10 European countries.

A total of 1，702 trains made the trans-continental voyage between China and Europe in 2016， up 109 percent from a year before.

The “China Railway Express” service， seen as the “Belt and Road on rail，” helps boost connectivity between China and the rest of Eurasia. An interconnected network has begun to replace uncoordinated individual cargo lines. In addition to offering freight transport solutions， it contributes to flows of global investment， resources， technology and skilled personnel， and facilitates global cross-sector collaboration.