By Hu Zhiyong

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China-Thailand Railway Promotes Regional Connectivity

By Hu Zhiyong

Afer various twists and turns， the China-Tailand Railway project is fnally launched. With the gradual advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative，China has accelerated its high-speed railway bid to “go global”.

China is taking part in the building of the Trans-Asian Railway which is divided into eastern， central and western lines， extending southwards from Kunming， capital of Yunnan Province， to Myanmar， Laos，Vietnam， Singapore and other countries，with a total length of 14，110 km， including 1，577 km in China. This international railway is expected to run throughout the Indo-China Peninsula and help strengthen the exchange of goods between Southeast Asian countries， accelerate the development of the Mekong River Valley and enhance the ties between the provinces and cities in Southwestern China and Southeast Asia. It will be a convenient“golden corridor” organically linking the two major markets of Southwestern China and ASEAN.

The China-Thailand Railway is one part of the Trans-Asian Railway， linking Kunming with the China-Laos Railway. On the one hand， tourists from China and Thailand can travel by rail to each other's country， and on the other hand， it is of great signifcance for the trade in goods between China and Southeast Asia. Moreover，after the China-Thailand Railway is operational， the railway freight charge will be only one-ninth that of shipping cargo by air， facilitating the export of agricultural products from Thailand and making the country an ASEAN traffic hub. Rail cooperation will contribute to Thailand's economic and social development.

A 900 km China-Thailand Railway is to be jointly built. On December 3， 2015，Wang Xiaotao， deputy chief of China's National Development and Reform Commission， and Arkhom Termpittayapaisith，Thailand's Minister of Transportation attending the contract signing ceremony in Bangkok.

Recently， China successively launched railway projects with Indonesia， Thailand and Laos. China's high-speed rail with mature technology is gradually showing of its advantages in neighboring countries， and China is actively driving local economic development via cooperation in high-speed rail construction.

On December 2， a large-scale railway project from Kunming to Singapore via Laos was formally launched with Chinese Government aid. With a total investment of US$6 billion， it passes through Laos，marking the first step of China's railway business in Southeast Asia， a component of China's Belt and Road Initiative. Only a day later， Tailand signed a memorandum of understanding with China allowing the latter to build the railway linking Bangkok to the Thai-Lao border. This project was valued about US$9.7 billion.

China actually will build two new railways in Thailand， with a total mileage of 867 km. Te Sino-Tai railway cooperation project is most likely to become a demonstration project of China's Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia， further promoting connectivity between China and ASEAN.

With its advantageous geographical location， Yunnan naturally becomes China's hub for ASEAN. Formation of a dense railway network centering on Kunming and facing Southeast Asia will greatly improve the transport capacity of China along with East Asia and ASEAN. In that case， Yunnan will turn into an important inland “port”without access to a major river or the sea.

Meanwhile， China's investment in building railways in Southeast Asia is changing the infrastructure in the areas along the railways so they can enjoy more convenient transportation to the outside world， thus driving local economic development.

As an emerging economy in the world，ASEAN has long and deep ties with China in terms of geopolitics， culture， history and national psychology. The completion of China-Laos Railway and China-Thailand Railway will profoundly change the backward situation in this region， improve the local employment rate， directly link the two major markets of Southwestern China and ASEAN， give full play to the all-weather and large-volume advantages of railway transportation， further promote and deepen bilateral economic and trade exchanges.

While deepening and developing the bilateral economic and trade relations between China and ASEAN， this is also conducive to the formation of a community of common interests.

About the author：

（Hu Zhiyong is a research fellow with the Institute of International Relations at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences）