2023 is a special year for China and Laos, marking the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative which led to the official opening of the China-Laos Railway more than a year ago. 

On this important occasion, the China-Laos Belt and Road Cooperation Forum kicked off in Vientiane, Laos on Wednesday. The forum featured achievements of China and Laos under the Belt and Road Initiative in the last decade.

China's top think tank for Belt and Road research, Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies at Renmin University of China, led a delegation of well-known think tanks and media representatives to attend the forum. 

China and Laos, as a prime example of Belt and Road partnerships, are committed to deepening economic cooperation. In 2022, trade between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) grew 15 percent, of which trade between China and Laos increased by more than 20 percent, according to China's General Administration of Customs. 

Additionally, the opening of the China-Laos Railway in December 2021 has greatly improved trade between the two countries. The 1,035-kilometer rail link which connects China's Kunming with Vientiane in Laos has transported 9.62 million tonnes of cargo in the first half of 2023 alone, up 94.7 percent year on year, with cross-border cargo volume more than tripling at 2.3 million tonnes, China News reported.

Chinese and foreign experts affirmed the regional impact of the China-Laos Railway at the forum. The railway is not only a means of transport but also a key infrastructure connecting China, Laos, Thailand, and other ASEAN countries, said Chen Wenling, chief economist at the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE). China is taking practical actions to bring about opportunities for the countries and people involved in the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative, she added. 

The China-Laos Railway has driven the economic development of surrounding areas and formed the China-Laos Economic Corridor, an important link between the two countries. Sitthiroth Rasphone, director general of the Development Research Institute (DRI), Lao Ministry of Planning and Investment, said China-Laos Economic Corridor will further support the bilateral trade and investment, as well as enhance the prosperity of the areas along the China-Laos Railway.