Students enjoy their break at China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School in Vientiane, the capital of Laos.

China-Laos ties yield strong outcomes

(China Daily/ANN) --Along the banks of the Mekong River in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, stands a recently expanded modern medical complex — Mahosot Hospital, Laos’ first hospital when established in 1910 and now its largest.
Financed by Chinese funds and with a total investment of about US$92 million, the expanded hospital now spans three hectares, with 600 beds and a rooftop helicopter pad.
In 2017, President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Laos — the first by a Chinese head of state and top leader of the Communist Party of China in 11 years.
Since then, there have been frequent mutual visits between Chinese and Lao leaders. In the latest development, Secretary General of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith arrived on Tuesday in Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China’s Zhejiang province, formally starting a five-day state visit.
The visits have led to closer cooperation between the two countries in areas such as infrastructure, energy, trade, agriculture and people’s livelihoods, including the Mahosot Hospital project.
The groundbreaking ceremony in 2017 for the hospital’s expansion was attended by Xi and former Lao President Bounnhang Vorachit.
In 2024, the expansion project was completed, doubling the hospital’s treatment capacity. In addition to funding hospital infrastructure, the Chinese government has supplied medical equipment to Mahosot Hospital. Over the years, more than 10 Chinese hospitals have carried out training programmes and exchanges with the Lao medical staff.
During Xi’s state visit to Laos in 2017, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation to improve Lao people’s livelihoods and advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future.
Since Xi’s visit, connectivity between the two countries has undergone a dramatic transformation. Connectivity has paved the way for win-win cooperation, and the China-Laos Railway stands as a landmark of friendship, unleashing the efficiency of the China-Laos Economic Corridor.
The China-Laos international freight train service was launched in December 2021. Data from China Railway Kunming Group shows that more than 71,000 freight train trips had operated along the route as of March this year, while transportation costs had dropped by 30 to 50 percent.
Passenger service on the railway, which is more than 1,000 kilometres long, has also expanded rapidly since cross-border operations began in April 2023, according to the group. As of mid-May, the railway had handled 73.38 million passenger trips, including more than 840,000 cross-border journeys.
In northern Laos, the Luang Prabang station has emerged as the busiest passenger hub on the railway line. As of April, it had served more than 4.36 million domestic and international passengers, helping drive local economic and social development, according to Laos-China Railway Co.
“The number of hotels has nearly tripled over the past three years because of booming tourism,” said Wongporapi Mengho, owner of a local family-run hotel. “Improved connectivity has created jobs and increased incomes for local residents.
“Now the city has a wide range of restaurants, from Chinese to Italian cuisine,” he added. “The growing number of international tourists has also boosted cultural exchanges and mutual understanding.”
Thanks to the strengthened connectivity, economic and trade cooperation between Laos and China has yielded fruitful results for mutual benefit, and practical cooperation has benefited the people of both countries.
Statistics from China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that last year, bilateral trade between Laos and China soared to US$9.82 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.3 percent. In 2017, it was US$3.1 billion, according to China’s General Administration of Customs.
Furthermore, China remained Laos’ largest foreign investor, with cumulative investment exceeding US$18 billion, according to the Laos-China Cooperation Committee, highlighting deepening economic ties between the two countries.
Beyond infrastructure, China and Laos have also expanded cooperation in several fields, such as industrial capacity, finance, agriculture, energy, telecommunications and healthcare.
Education is also an example of the deepening cooperation between the two countries.
Every time distinguished visitors arrive at Nongping primary school in Vientiane, Phanthong Khamthongdee, the principal, proudly points to a framed letter hanging prominently on the wall of her office.

(Latest Update June 4, 2026)