MKsportphoto taken on February 13, 2025 shows a railway worker guiding a train in Hanoi. Vietnam said February 19 that it will build a $8 billion rail link from its largest northern port city to the border with China. (Photo: VCG)" src="https://www.globaltimes.cn/Portals/0/attachment/2025/2025-02-20/8ad525d0-244f-4b2c-bd98-faa2e2e04da1.jpeg" />

This photo taken on February 13, 2025 shows a railway worker guiding a train in Hanoi. Vietnam said February 19 that it will build a $8 billion rail link from its largest northern port city to the border with China. (Photo: VCG)

Vietnam's National Assembly on Wednesday approved investment for the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway project, according to the Vietnam News Agency. The railway, worth $8.37 billion, stretches from Vietnam's northern port city Hai Phong to Lao Cai, which borders Southwest China's Yunnan Province.

Construction of the railway is scheduled to begin by the end of this year. The project is expected to be completed between 2026 and 2030, and the railway will carry both passengers and cargo, according to a feasibility report submitted to the Vietnamese National Assembly, local media reported. 

The main line of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong railway project will stretch approximately 390.9 kilometers, with three branch lines totaling about 27.9 kilometers. The railway will pass through seven provinces and two cities, namely Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Phu Tho, Vinh Phuc, Hanoi, Bac Ninh, Hung Yen, Hai Duong and Hai Phong, according to the Xinhua News Agency. 

Upon completion, the railway is expected to serve 20 percent of Vietnam's population, 25.4 percent of its GDP and 25.1 percent of its industrial areas. It will provide transportation solutions to exports of goods from Vietnam and imports of raw materials, enhance the logistics efficiency of Vietnam's railway network, and drive economic and social development, local media reported.

"Once the railway is put into operation, it will greatly improve trade between China and Vietnam. Meanwhile, Vietnamese goods can be transported to Europe more quickly and cost-effectively through China, after the railway connects with the China-Europe freight train network," Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said on Wednesday at a regular press conference that China and Vietnam agreed to accelerate the feasibility study of the Lao Cai-Hanoi-Hai Phong standard gauge railway, speed up the plan compilation of the Dong Dang-Hanoi standard gauge railway and the Mong Cai-Ha Long-Hai Phong standard gauge railway. 

The two sides agreed to advance the work of building a standard gauge railway connection point between Hekou (Southwest China's Yunnan Province) and Lao Cai (Vietnam), said Guo.

"The approval of the railway project is a significant step in strengthening connectivity between China and the Southeast Asian region and also enhancing trade flows and cross-border exchanges," Xu noted.

Xu also pointed out that this means that the Pan-Asia Railway is gradually becoming a reality, with the China-Vietnam Railway and the China-Thailand Railway to be connected in the future.

At present, the Pan-Asia Railway, a railway network connecting China and Southeast Asia, is forming and expanding. The network has been delivering advantages to the countries involved.

The China-Laos Railway became fully operational on December 3, 2021. The railway has transformed Laos from a landlocked country into a land-linked hub connecting Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore, expanding the international logistics network and significantly reducing transportation costs and shipping times.

The first phase of construction of the China-Thailand High-Speed Railway began in December 2017. On February 4, 2025, Thailand's cabinet approved the second phase of the high-speed rail project that will connect the Southeast Asian country with China through Laos, with completion expected in 2030, according to the Xinhua News Agency.

According to local media, Malaysia is open to proposals to extend its East Coast Rail Line to Thailand's border, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said in March 2024.

Singapore has a rail link with Malaysia, and once the Malaysia-Thailand link is built, the three countries will be connected by a railway network.

Malaysia's proposal will make the central route of the planned Pan-Asia Railway, linking Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province to Singapore, a reality, analysts said.

Such expanding and improving transport connectivity promotes relations between China and Southeast Asian countries, which can be seen from the increasingly close trade ties. 

China has been the largest trading partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for 16 consecutive years and ASEAN has been China's largest trading partner for five years in a row. In 2024, bilateral trade reached 6.99 trillion yuan ($959 billion), up 9.0 percent year-on-year, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs.

Southeast Asian countries are pivotal partners in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, with both sides engaging in extensive cooperation in areas such as investment and infrastructure development.

"The Pan-Asia Railway will further enhance connectivity between China and Southeast Asia, promoting deeper integration of industrial and supply chains," said Xu.