Laos, China’s Yunnan mull expansion of expressway link, trade and investment

Senior officials from Laos and China’s Yunnan province have pushed for an extended expressway link and the expansion of trade and investment between the neighbouring regions through potential areas of cooperation.

The entrance to the Vientiane-Vangvieng expressway.

Calling on Minister of Industry and Commerce Malaythong Kommasith recently, the visiting Deputy Governor of Yunnan province, Wang Hao, called for Lao leaders and the sectors concerned to continue their support for cooperation projects, including an expressway linking the Lao capital Vientiane to the Chinese border.
Mr Wang was referring to Phase II of the construction of the expressway and its continuation north from the tourist hotspot of Vangvieng in Vientiane province to the Chinese border, the Vientiane Mai reported.
Phase I of the expressway, which connects Vangvieng and Vientiane, was completed and opened to traffic at the end of 2020. 
For his part, Mr Malaythong asked the Chinese side to provide technical assistance in helping Laos to formulate a strategic plan for e-commerce development and management as well as the development of a circular economy.
Noting that Laos and Yunnan have seen considerable growth in border trade, Mr Malaythong asked his guests to support and assist Laos in formulating a master plan on border trade development.
The Lao minister asked for support in arranging for Lao officials to go on study tours to Yunnan to learn about the promotion and management of border trade, imports and exports, and their revenue, as well as coordinated mechanisms.
Mr Malaythong also underlined the need for Chinese support for micro, small and medium enterprises in Laos in an attempt to strengthen these businesses so they could improve the quality of their products and enable them to access finance and their products to access Chinese markets.
In addition, the minister pushed for cooperation to develop e-commerce platforms, logistics systems and exchanges in trade and investment related regulations and laws.
Laos and Yunnan province, which borders Laos to the north and is an important gateway between China, Laos and the rest of Southeast Asia, enjoyed two-way trade totalling US$1.74 billion in 2022, up by 33.7 percent from 2021.
The two sides hailed the importance of the Laos-China railway, which links Yunnan province to the Lao capital, in significantly bolstering trade and investment as well as tourism.
To date, 297 companies from Yunnan province have invested in Laos, with the value of investment totalling US$4.24 billion.
Other mega projects that the reflect fruitful cooperation between the two sides include the Boten-Mohan border economic zone, the Vientiane-Vangvieng expressway, and Vientiane Saysettha Development Zone.
Mr Malaythong observed that the Chinese side has continuously supported Laos by offering export preferences, quotas, human resource development, and other forms of material aid.
To boost trade between Laos and Yunnan province in the coming years, Mr Wang suggested that the scope of trade be broadened including the export of more cattle to China as well as upgrade of the Boten-Mohan border crossing to enable a greater volume of cross-border trade, and more.

By Times Reporters
 (Latest Update December 15, 2023)