China, Laos vow to strengthen cooperation

Beijing, The Gulf Observer: Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang on Monday met with Laos Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith in Beijing, and the two sides agreed to strengthen practical cooperation and promote coordinated development.

Qin said the meeting between the two heads of state last November has drawn a grand blueprint for promoting the building of China-Laos community with a shared future.

China and Laos are standing at a new historical point and bilateral relations are facing new development opportunities, Qin said.

China will cooperate with Laos to transfer the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and the two countries into substantial cooperation results, Qin said, adding that China supports Laos to develop steadily, improve people’s livelihood and play a more important role in international and regional levels.

For his part, Saleumxay said Laos attaches great importance to Laos-China relations, and is willing to implement the consensus, operate the Laos-China Railway well, deepen cooperation in the fields of economy and trade, energy and mining and travel, and solidly advance the building of Laos-China community with a shared future.

Statistics from the Lao Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism show that since the China-Laos Railway opened on December 2021, it has activated the Lao tourism economy, as 85 percent of tourists from Vientiane to Luang Prabang have chosen to take the train.

As of last Friday, 3,049 passenger trains have been running on the Lao section of the China-Laos Railway, carrying 2.22 million passengers. This year, 834 passenger trains have been running, transporting 778,000 passengers.

The average passenger load rate reached 97.85 percent, and the highest daily count of passengers was 10,197 on March 4.

Both sides agreed to maintain high-level mutual visits and close personnel exchanges, continue to support each other’s core interests and take the lead in implementing the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative in the cooperation between the two countries.

Both sides agreed to promote the development of future relations between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), including building a peaceful, safe and secure, prosperous, beautiful and amicable home together, and the connectivity of the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific, and the Belt and Road Initiative to elevate China-ASEAN cooperation level.

Both sides resolutely oppose external forces interfering in regional affairs by using issues such as Taiwan, the South China Sea, human rights and water resources.

Both sides firmly support the centrality of the ASEAN and the regional cooperation framework centered on the ASEAN, uphold openness and inclusiveness, oppose division and confrontation, properly address hotspots and sensitive issues and promote regional solidarity, peace and development.