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Rail links high on program of China-Vietnam leaders' conference

Rail links will be high on the agenda when Vietnam's freshly selected leader To Lam meets China's President Xi Jinping next week, authorities said, as the neighbours look for to enhance trade and enhance supply chains.

The countries are linked by two trains from Southern China to Vietnam's capital Hanoi and its northern commercial center, but the Vietnamese facilities dates back to French colonisation and it has a various gauge than Chinese high-speed rail, requiring passengers and products to swap trains at the border.

Mistrust between the 2 Communist-run neighbours, which combated a short border war in the late 1970s and frequently still clash over boundaries in the South China Sea, has long obstructed progress on rail links, but in recent months economic considerations appear to have dominated security concerns.

In December, Xi offered grants and loans to assist upgrade Vietnamese railways and the nations signed two memoranda of understanding (MoU) to boost railway cooperation.

The focus of Lam's journey to China, his first abroad given that he was likewise provided the party chief task previously in August, is on executing signed agreements and attaining brand-new substantive cooperation results, especially in the locations of shared interest such as train connection, Vietnamese foreign minister Bui Thanh Kid said in a declaration.

China's ambassador in Hanoi, Xiong Bo, informed local press reporters this week according to a summary seen that the two sides were accelerating prepare for 3 railway: from Lao Cai to the port city of Haiphong through Hanoi; from Lang Kid to Hanoi; and a third one along the coast from Mong Cai to Haiphong.

A Vietnamese official stated brand-new agreements were expected during Lam's journey to China, including on railways, other investments and trade in agricultural products.

CHINA FUNDS

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh called for Chinese funding and innovation for Vietnamese railways during a visit to China in June, according to Vietnamese state media, in what appeared as a substantial modification of tack.

Hanoi has for years remained unclear about making use of Belt and Road Initiative's funds, China's flagship infrastructure program, after demonstrations appeared in Vietnam in 2018 over plans for closer financial ties with China.

That, nevertheless, has actually not stopped Chinese private investment in Vietnam, which is expanding.

Smooth rail links are viewed as important for supply chains, as a growing variety of Chinese manufacturers move some export-oriented operations to Vietnam in the middle of trade stress in between China and the United States.

Vietnam is preparing an enormous growth of its internal rail network with a 1,500-km-long high-speed connection from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, at an expense of roughly $70 billion, the nation's most significant infrastructure job ever.

(source: Reuters)