Expert: China-Laos trade cooperation benefits both countries

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China and Laos have witnessed rapid development of their bilateral relations since they forged diplomatic ties 56 years ago. The two countries' cooperative projects have become an excellent example of good-neighborliness. Expert said the two countries have a solid and strong relation, foreseeing more cooperation and imagination in the future.

“I believe that based on the partner relationship, which is described by Xi Jinping as ‘good neighbor, good friend, good comrade and a good partner,’ the two countries can really develop hand-in-hand. And in the end, it will benefit both countries,” said Li Yong, a senior fellow at the China Association of International Trade.

China is now Laos' second-largest trading partner. And Laos has seen a growing trade volume with China in recent years, helped by the fact that the two countries' economies are highly complementary.

The bilateral trade revenue reached 2.34 billion US dollars in 2016. Besides, in the first nine months of 2017, bilateral trade increased by 25.1 percent year-on-year, reaching 2.1 billion US dollars, Gao Feng, spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Commerce, said at a press conference on November 2.

And official data also showed that Chinese investment in Laos had climbed to more than 63 billion US dollars by this September with 25 percent of Laos' foreign investment comes from China, based on Lao Statistics Bureau.

The Southeast Asian country is an active partner in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative. China has been providing assistance in railway infrastructure projects to Laos.

“Laos has been labeled by the United Nations as the least developed country. But recently, the economic growth has been very fast. And now they are in a kind of contradiction between the backward infrastructure and the fast-growing economy. So the cooperation [between China and Laos] in the past few years has been centered on helping the infrastructure construction in Laos,” Li noted.

The China-Laos railway project has a total investment of six billion US dollars, using Chinese technology, equipment and investment. And other infrastructure projects backed by Chinese investment have helped promote connectivity between Laos and its neighboring countries.

Those projects seem to be symbols of a clear change in country’s economic direction – a ‘battery’ in the region, according to Li. Since its official said the country wants to transform its “land-locked country” into a “land-linked country.”

Street stalls illuminate the night market in Vientiane, Laos, November 2, 2017. /VCG Photo

As to the future, Li expected two countries to work together to develop economy and shape a better life and a better environment for both.

“There would be a lot of cooperation [between the two countries], which are complimentary. China has the demand, for example, of the green agriculture products. And Laos has become one of the most important tourist destinations for China. The current conditions of the countries provide a lot of spaces for cooperation, even space for imagination,” Li added.

(CGTN’s Jin Yang also contributed to the story)

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