The first international passenger train of the China-Laos Railway departs from Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province for Vientiane on April 13, 2023. Photo: VCG

 

China and Laos have set a good example for the entire ASEAN region, which is mainly reflected in the convergence of interests, cultural communication, and mutual political trust, experts said on Monday as Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Saleumxay Kommasith pays an official visit to China from Sunday to Tuesday at the invitation of Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang.

Noting that the two heads of state drew up a grand blueprint for promoting the building of a community with a shared future between China and Laos during their meeting in November last year, Qin said China is ready to work closely with Laos to the important consensus reached by the top leaders of the two parties and countries into tangible cooperation results, and support Laos in achieving stable development, improving people's livelihood and playing a more important role in the international and regional arena, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Saleumxay said that Laos attaches great importance to China-Laos relations. Laos is willing to run the Laos-China Railway well, deepen cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, energy, mining and tourism, and make solid progress in building a Laos-China community with a shared future, he added.

With the China-Laos Railway recently launching the cross-border passenger train service from Kunming in Southwest China's Yunnan Province to the Lao capital of Vientiane, Saleumxay's visit is of great significance to further deepening the China-Laos community with shared future, experts noted on Monday. 

"There is no doubt that the opening of such a cross-border service will play a positive role in promoting the connectivity of the whole region, enhancing confidence in regional cooperation and promoting the integration of the ASEAN mechanism," Xu Liping, director of the Center for Southeast Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Monday.

China and Laos have set a good example for the entire ASEAN region, which is mainly reflected in the convergence of interests, cultural communication, and political mutual trust, Xu said. 

The two sides agreed to maintain high-level visits, strengthen pragmatic cooperation, enhance personnel exchanges, promote coordinated development, continue to firmly 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 bilateral cooperation, according to Xinhua News Agency.

In addition, the two sides also agreed to synergize the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific with the Belt and Road Initiative, and upgrade China-ASEAN cooperation to a higher level. 

The proposal of the so-called Indo-Pacific Strategy of Japan and Indo-Pacific Strategy of the US has challenged the centrality of ASEAN. However, China supports the initiative of consolidating the centrality of ASEAN as a multilateral framework, which makes ASEAN countries more eager to promote cooperation with China, Ge Hongliang, director of the China-ASEAN Maritime Security Research Center at Guangxi University for Nationalities, told the Global Times.

The two sides firmly oppose interference in regional affairs by non-regional forces under the pretext of the issues of Taiwan, the South China Sea, human rights, and water resources. They also agreed to firmly uphold the centrality of the ASEAN, manage hotspot and sensitive issues properly, and promote regional unity, peace and development.

The theme of cooperation between China and Southeast Asian countries is very clear, that is, focus on development, focus on multilateral cooperation and adhere to genuine multilateralism. "The cooperation between China and Laos highlights this theme, as the China-Laos community with shared future is taking the lead in terms of governmental strategies and the progress being made in the construction process," Ge said.