China launches its first cross-border BRI train with Laos
China on Friday launched the first USD 6 billion cross-border train of its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) from Laos, which Beijing says will help the small and only landlocked country in South East Asia turn into a land-linked hub, boost regional connectivity and supply chain resilience.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and his Laos’ counterpart Thongloun Sisoulith jointly witnessed the opening of the China-Laos railway via video link on Friday.
The first train of the China-Laos Railway left Vientiane soon after the cross-border railway was officially put into operation, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.
