Taking power: Chinese firm to run Laos electric grid amid default warnings

A file picture showing a farmer workings in a paddy field under the Laas power lines near Nam Theun 2 dam at the Khammouane province in Laos. - Reuters

The deal comes at a time when critics accuse Beijing of "debt trap diplomacy" to gain strategic advantage in countries struggling to repay loans taken out under President Xi Jinping's global "Belt and Road" infrastructure initiative.

China is Laos's biggest creditor, and the deal will bind the landlocked, mountainous country of seven million people closer to its giant neighbour.