This file frame grab from Lao National TV video footage taken on December 3, 2021 via AFPTV shows Laos President Thongloun Sisoulith (top L) and China's President Xi Jinping (top R) waving as they watch trains connecting the Chinese city of Kunming (pictured bottom R) and the Laos capital Vientiane (pictured bottom L) set off during the opening of a Chinese-built railway which took five years to construct under China's trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative. Laos opened a new six billion USD railway to much fanfare this month, but analysts warn the party could be short-lived as the government grapples with a potential debt crisis as a result of unsustainable Chinese loans to pay for the project and others. - AFP
BANGKOK, Dec 19 (AFP): Laos opened a new US$6 billion rail link with China to much fanfare this month, but analysts warn the party could be short-lived as the government grapples with a potential debt crisis.
The line will connect the capital Vientiane with the southern Chinese city of Kunming, and there are grand plans for a high-speed rail network running to Singapore through Thailand and Malaysia.
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