观点

中老铁路是“一带一路”倡议提出后，首条以中方为主投资建设、与中国铁路网直接联通的国际铁路，是“一带一路”的标志性工程，体现了“一带一路”的核心思想——让大陆寻找海洋，帮助沿线国家实现陆海联通。中老铁路让老挝从“陆锁国”变为“陆联国”，彻底改变了老挝在海洋性全球化世界格局中的国家命运。

中老铁路的顺利开通，体现了“一带一路”建设的三大效应。其一，“一带一路”对推动中国改革开放，尤其边疆、沿海、沿江地区的向外开放，促进高质量发展，加强国际陆海大通道、城市群建设等起到重要作用。中老铁路将大大提升昆明面向东南亚的对外开放水平。其二，“一带一路”让中国和周边邻国结成更加紧密的命运共同体，加强与世界其他国家的交流合作。老挝作为经济欠发达的“陆锁国”，如今不仅通上铁路，而且开始实现电气化和5G 信息通讯，“弯道超车”成为可能。其三，中老铁路对落实泛亚铁路构想，实现中国与东南亚国家铁路互联互通和更大范围的陆海联通起到重要示范作用，也为全球范围内“一带一路”高质量建设提供样板。

老挝是一个“陆锁国”，山地高原广布，没有出海口。长期以来，地理环境、交通基础设施等因素严重制约了老挝参与全球化的能力。对老挝而言，中老铁路的开通，将极大提升老挝基础设施水平，为老挝发展注入强劲动力，帮助老挝发挥经济增长潜力，加快摆脱贫困，实现可持续发展目标。与此同时，中老铁路有利于老挝吸引国际投资者和游客，让老挝企业和普通民众更好地融入地区及全球供应链，享受地区一体化发展红利。

中老铁路是两国领导人高度重视、亲自推动的重要项目，全线采用中国技术标准、使用中国设备，实现高质量建设，是廉洁丝绸之路的试点项目。在疫情背景下，中老铁路能够如期建成通车，中国建设者在抗击疫情和履行项目能力方面取得重大成就，体现出“一带一路”建设在各种风险挑战下扎实有效推进的巨大能力。作为“一带一路”沉甸甸、实打实的成就之一，中老铁路体现了“一带一路”是实实在在的国际公共产品，是切实推动中国与沿线国家共同发展的合作平台，可以给沿线国家人民带来幸福感、获得感，满足沿线国家的现实发展需求。

中老铁路顺利开通有利于促进中老两国高度政治互信，夯实双边高水平合作基础，深化两国经济合作，有力推动中老经济走廊建设，加强两国民心相通。中老铁路是中国与东南亚跨国铁路网络的重要组成部分，作为“一带一路”硬联通的重要组成部分，中老铁路将极大促进中国与东盟国家的互联互通和经济一体化。

北起中国云南省会昆明市，南至老挝首都万象市，全长1035 公里的中老铁路在多年工程攻关和翻山越岭的建设后终于“走到一起”。

老挝是中南半岛北部唯一的内陆国家，北邻中国，南接柬埔寨，东接越南，西北达缅甸，西南毗连泰国。随着中老铁路的开通，老挝有望转地理劣势为优势，由“陆锁国”变为“陆联国”，成为联通各国的陆上交通枢纽。

于中国而言，这条翻山越岭、来之不易的交通线亦具有重要意义。

中老铁路的开通有助于改善中国西南“老少边穷地区”的交通现状，给当地带来经济发展机遇之际，还给老百姓提供了与外界联通开阔眼界的机会。

中老铁路通车，是共建“一带一路”的重大合作成果。它不仅夯实了中老命运共同体，将两国友好关系和经贸合作带入了具有里程碑意义的新阶段，还对深化中国与东盟睦邻友好合作，推进澜沧江—湄公河次区域合作，为东盟经济共同体建设作出了积极贡献。

中老铁路是互联互通的新发展，为区域国家抓住RCEP 市场开放带来的机遇提供了便利，为打造中国—东盟自由贸易区3.0 版构建了有利条件，还对在世界范围内共建“一带一路”具有示范作用。

经过八年时间，“一带一路”以“六廊六路多国多港”互联互通的格局已基本形成。中老铁路等一批重大基础设施项目建设提高了中国与沿线国家的联通水平，不仅能促进当地经济社会发展，还有利于改善当地与世界经济的联系，融入国际分工，发挥区域的要素禀赋优势，让更多国家享受到全球化红利。

西双版纳独具特色的热带雨林和丰富多彩的民族文化吸引了世界的眼球，早在1994年磨憨公路口岸就开始了对第三国人员开放，2008年昆曼公路通车后，磨憨公路口岸出入境人次位居云南口岸前列，从磨憨口岸出入的第三国人员数量增长较快。2019年西双版纳接待国内外游客4853.21万人次。在2021年9月24日召开的西双版纳傣族自治州第九次党代表大会上，西双版纳明确了“世界旅游名城、沿边开放试验区、民族团结示范区”的奋斗目标。目前，美丽的西双版纳正努力为海内外游客奉上一个具有热带雨林特色的世界级旅游胜地。中老铁路在西双版纳州设有野象谷站、西双版纳站、橄榄坝站、勐腊站、磨憨站5 个车站，其中磨憨站是客货两用车站。中老铁路开通后，昆明到西双版纳只需3 小时，西双版纳州综合交通由水、陆、空三维转化为水、陆、空、铁“四轮驱动”的立体综合交通网络，极大地便利了国内外游客赴西双版纳旅游。

后疫情时代，中国与老挝携手共建跨境旅游合作区，通过中老铁路将赴老挝旅游的东盟各国、日本、韩国以及欧洲、美国游客吸引到西双版纳旅游。同时，升级改造现有的磨憨、磨丁免税店，进一步发挥免税旅游购物的作用，扩大游客购物的种类、提高游客购物的档次，促进游客人均消费的增加，通过免税购物，带动西双版经济发展，助力其打造“世界旅游名城”。

The China-Laos Railway was inaugurated on December 3,with President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and Thongloun Sisoulith, general secretary of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao president, watching the opening ceremony via video link, and congratulating each other on the success of the project.

As a major Sino-Lao cooperation project, the China-Laos Railway is an important part of the pan-Asian railway network and will not only benefit the two peoples, but also significantly improve regional connectivity.

Till the opening of the new railway line, Laos only had a 3.5-kilometer narrow gauge railway linking the capital Vientiane to the border with Thailand.In fact, backward infrastructure and inadequate connectivity have restricted Laos’ economic and social development, and prevented the country from capitalizing on its geographical advantages.

It has long been a dream of the Lao people to see their country change from a land-locked to a “land-linked country”,and the opening of the new railway is a big step toward turning their dream into reality.

The new railway will upgrade Laos’ infrastructure, reduce its transportation costs, boost its tourism, logistics and agricultural processing industries, enhance its self-development capacity, and help it more expeditiously alleviate poverty.It will also enable Lao businesses to better integrate into regional and global supply chains, and enjoy the benefits of such integration.

Also, the opening of the China-Laos Railway will thus help accelerate the development of the China-Laos Economic Corridor as part of the Belt and Road Initiative, and further advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future.

Besides, the economies of the two countries are complementary.With its superior natural resources and rapid economic development, Laos is at a crucial stage of industrialization, while China has rich experience and advantages in the use of capital and technologies, and is adept at building and developing infrastructure.As such, the new railway will deepen cooperation between the two sides on traffic,production capacity, power generation, mining, agriculture,tourism, the digital economy, people’s livelihoods, poverty alleviation, education and culture.

Also, the China-Laos Railway will play a key role in improving connectivity between the countries in the region.As Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh said: “The Laos-China Railway will become an important driving force for Laos-China and ASEANChina cooperation in the economic, trade, investment, tourism,employment and cultural fields as well as personnel exchanges.”

The new railway also marks a major step toward building a comprehensive pan-Asian railway network and could inspire other countries to add to and improve the network to ensure better connectivity.For instance, the China-Laos Railway will increase freight train services between Nong Khai in Thailand and Laos to 24 round trips a day in the next five years, according to Thailand’s National Railway Authority.

In short, the new railway will boost connectivity and trade between not only China and Laos but also China and other ASEAN member states, as well as within ASEAN.

The China-Laos Railway is another example of the friendly cooperation between China and other countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and is bound to become a path to prosperity, facilitating communication and exchanges between the two countries.

The 1,035-km cross-border railway links southwest China’s Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, with the Laotian capital of Vientiane, cutting the travel time between the two cities to about 10 hours.

Honoring the principle of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness, China has been expanding the scope of cooperation with Laos under the BRI over the years.

In 2017, the two countries inked several documents on cooperation projects such as infrastructure development and the construction of China-Laos Economic Corridor.The railway has thus become a signature project of the two countries’ joint efforts in building the Belt and Road.

A 2020 World Bank report has projected that, with the completion of the railway, a total of 3.7 million tonnes of freight between China and Laos could be transported on trains by 2030,as against the land-based bilateral trade volume of 1.2 million tonnes registered in 2016.

It also noted that the railway has the potential to increase Laos’ aggregate income by up to 21 percent in the long term.

“The Lao people are proud of and excited by the railway,”said Daovone Phachanthavong, the vice executive president of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The railway promises bright prospects for Laos.When the railway comes into full service, it will drastically cut the cost of transportation in the country, boost trade and investment, and attract more visitors.The price of imported goods is expected to fall as a result.

Finishing the construction phase of a project is never the end of the story.As Chinese ambassador to Laos Jiang Zaidong has said, both China and Laos will “continue to bring more visible and tangible benefits to the people, to demonstrate the spirit of the China-Laos community with a shared future, with practical activities” in the follow-up operation and development of the railway.

As for the environmental impact of the railways’ construction,the engineers have ensured that it is kept to the minimum by improving construction methods.After construction of every section, revegetation follows, and the construction team never spare any effort to return the trackside to its original condition.

Through cooperation projects like the China-Laos Railway,China demonstrates to the world that it honors its commitment to building the Belt and Road of high quality amid its pursuit of building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The streamlined bullet train, or electric multiple unit (EMU)train for the China-Laos Railway, arrived at the newlybuilt Vientiane station on Oct 16.The outlook, especially the roof, is Lao style, and the decoration embodies Lao and Chinese cultures, conforms to the characteristics of the China-Laos Railway.The stations are nicely built.

The China-Laos Railway will convert Laos from being geographically disadvantaged, by taking advantage of its location, to a regional land-linked hub.

The railway will be an important piece of infrastructure that increases the nation’s transportation connectivity with other parts of the region, that many business operators will switch to exporting products by using the railway, which is expected to cut the cost of transport through Laos by 30 to 40 percent compared to traveling by road.

The China-Laos Railway will lay a new foundation for the introduction of foreign investment, and Laos will take the advantage to participate in the regional and global industrial chain.

The railway will result in the growth of many industries like tourism, trade and investment, especially in the processing industry,and it’s going to help a lot for Laos’ post-pandemic recovery.

Firstly, when the railway is operational, Laos’ tourism industry is expected to benefit greatly from the expected rise in rail passenger traffic.

Business owners must prepare to welcome an influx of visitors under new normal conditions.They must improve their facilities and services standards.Laos has a lot of places where tourists can experience untouched nature and culture.With its rich natural resources and biodiversity, Laos can offer an opportunity to promote nature-based tourism.

Addressing the opening of the National Assembly (NA)on Nov.1, Lao Prime Minister Phankham Viphavanh said Laos needs to consider the steps to take to reopen the country,including the start of services on the China-Laos Railway.

Meanwhile, many provinces in Laos are preparing for the return of tourists.Visitor attractions and accommodation will be restored and upgraded after being closed for months during the COVID-19 outbreak.

A second opportunity lies in organic agriculture production.Many investors are interested in growing and setting up factories in Laos to process agricultural products for export, because clean agriculture production is in high demand (while Laos meets its requirements).

From a personal perspective, we must develop and improve more organic agricultural production for export to regional and international markets.

The China-Laos Railway will not only benefit bilateral trade, but also benefit other countries that want to export products to China or even Europe, as using the railway could save both time and money.

A third opportunity lies in the processing industry.For some products, even people can not provide parts of raw materials here, but they can process, assemble, export and ship them by rail to China and even beyond China to Europe through China-Europe Railway Express.

The railway has highlighted Laos’ geographical advantages,and that industries including finance and health care can also find development opportunities in Laos.