After Vietnam approved the plan to build the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway, Chinese experts expect that this railway will significantly increase trade between China and Vietnam, strengthening connectivity between China and Southeast Asia.
Speaking at a regular press conference on the afternoon of February 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said: “ Since last year, China and Vietnam have discussed many times about promoting railway connections between the two countries, agreeing to speed up the feasibility study of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong standard gauge railway and plan the Dong Dang - Hanoi and Mong Cai - Ha Long - Hai Phong standard gauge railways, speed up the construction of the railway connecting China's Hekou with Vietnam's Lao Cai standard gauge railway.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun. (Photo: Chinese Foreign Ministry)
Meanwhile, Mr. Xu Liping, Director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, when answering the country's media, assessed that the approval of the project is an important step in enhancing connectivity between China and Southeast Asian countries, as well as promoting cross-border trade and exchanges.
“ When put into operation, the railway will significantly increase trade between China and Vietnam. In addition, Vietnamese goods can be transported to Europe faster and more economically via China, after the railway connects with China's high-speed railway system and the Asia-Europe railway network. This will boost Vietnam's trade growth,” he stressed.
He also said that Vietnam's construction of the Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway means that the trans-Asian railway is gradually becoming a reality, with the China-Vietnam railway and the China-Thailand railway to be connected in the future.
Map of Lao Cai - Hanoi - Hai Phong railway route.
According to Chinese media, expanding and improving transport connections will promote increasingly close trade relations between China and Southeast Asian countries.
According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of China, China has been the largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 16 consecutive years, while ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for five consecutive years. In 2024, bilateral trade reached 6.99 trillion yuan ($959 billion), up 9% year-on-year.
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