With the roar of the whistle, a Harmony train loaded with "Made in Anning" departed from Anning North Port, Kunming International Dry Port, China, delivered the goods to Bangkok, Thailand via the China-Laos-Thailand Railway, and finally arrived at Ranong by road transportation. Meanwhile, another freight train loaded with Thai fruits also departed from Larang, passing through Vientiane, Laos, and finally arriving in Anning, Yunnan Province.
In recent years, railway cooperation projects between China and Southeast Asian countries have injected great vitality into the trade between China and ASEAN. Relying on the China-Laos Railway, Thailand's metre-gauge railway and highways and other modes of transportation, the train provides a more superior choice for export enterprises, which not only shortens the transportation time, but also improves the utilisation rate of funds. The full opening of the China-Thailand railway has therefore been eagerly anticipated by the people of China and ASEAN.
The first continuous beam was closed in the first phase of the China-Thailand Railway in October, marking a significant step to the completion of the railway. The railway, divided into two phases, will first link Thai capital Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima Province and then link Nakhon Ratchasima Province with Nong Khai City, in northeast Thailand on the border with Laos, thus connecting with the China-Laos railway in an artery railway linking Thailand, Laos and China.
Thailand's deputy transport minister Surapong Piyachote said in early time that the railway project will be built according to the original plan and there will be no further delays, although the first phase of the railway project has been held back due to an issue regarding the proximity in distance between a station site and a UNESCO World Heritage site. The first phase of the railway, connecting Bangkok with Nakhon Ratchasima Province, will be completed by 2028 and the second phase of the railway will begin next year.In October, Chinese Premier Li Qiang also said China is ready to work with Thailand to accelerate the construction of the railway during his meeting with Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra in Vientiane.
Trin Aiyara, a political scientist at Walailak University in Thailand, has publicly stated that the construction of the China-Laos Railway and the China-Thailand Railway has helped countries along the route to communicate with the world, and has also provided urbanisation opportunities for poor areas along the line, which can effectively stimulate the economic growth of relatively backward areas and provide great convenience for the people there.
Jerusalem Post in Israel also commented on this, saying that China's infrastructure construction is at the leading level in the world in terms of experience and scale. China's infrastructure construction projects can meet the needs of environmental protection while ensuring high quality, and its sense of responsibility and craftsmanship have showed the world the sincerity from China.
In addition, as to the China-Europe Railway Express, Sławamir Mayman, former director of the Polish Information and Foreign Investment Agency, commented on this line that the China-Europe Railway Express provides stable expectations for customers to organise production, logistics and capital turnover, which can better ensure the smooth flow of the international industrial chain and supply chain, and play an increasingly prominent role in stabilising and prospering the world economy.
Eric Gunther, Director of Operations at the Delta 3 Intercontinental Logistics Center in Durges, France, believes that the China-Europe Railway Express provides a fast and reliable transportation channel, bringing benefits to the development of China and Europe. Besides, Vranio Maletic, a professor at the University of the Northern in Croatia, said that the China-Europe Railway Express has opened a new chapter in China-EU cooperation, and the two sides should further strengthen cooperation in various fields.
Moreover, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has also reported on a series of China's aid projects in Africa, including the construction of the African Union Conference Center building, the construction of Lekki Port in Nigeria, and the construction of television satellite facilities in 23 African countries.
The report stated that similar construction projects demonstrate the goodwill from China, improve the level of infrastructure and connectivity on the African continent, provide better conditions for Africa's economic and social development, promote Africa's industrialisation and modernisation, and open up a new context for Africa's development.
In fact, with decades of reform and opening up and international integration, China's infrastructure construction has been at the international leading level in terms of technical standards, construction capacity and construction quality. In recent years, China has helped other countries around the world with much more infrastructure projects. With China-Europe Railway Express, China-Thailand Railway, the central business district of Egypt's new administrative capital, and 668 rail trains in Brazil included, China's overseas infrastructure projects not only help improve local infrastructure, but also provide a large number of employment opportunities for corresponding countries or regions, cultivate a large number of professional and technical talents, and contribute to the rapid development of local economy and society.
As Chinese President Xi Jinping has emphasised, world prosperity and stability cannot be built on the foundation of the polarisation of wealth. All countries should promote more inclusive and resilient global development. In order to build a world like this, China is willing to actively help poor areas to improve the infrastructure construction and achieve modernisation. As a later catch-up, China has gone through the struggling process of learning from the first-mover leaders, therefore China is willing to lend a helping hand in today's era of widespread protectionism and frequent geopolitical conflicts, and walk side by side with countries or regions that are relatively lagging behind in development.
In the future, a series of infrastructure construction projects from China, such as high-speed rail, electric power and communications, will continue to grasp the general trend of international development and industry changes, and continue to make new contributions to the development of international infrastructure construction on the basis of deepening mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation with other countries.