High-speed train to prosperity for SE Asia

One after another, Southeast Asian countries are joining hands with China to build high-speed railways. The latest such project is a 688-kilometer high-speed railway along the eastern coast of Malaysia, for which the groundbreaking ceremony was held on Aug 10. Last week, media reports said China and Thailand will sign a contract on a railway project linking Kunming, capital of Southwestern China's Yunnan province, and Bangkok during Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha's official visit to China next month. And work on the project is expected to start in October.

Apart from the above-mentioned projects, Chinese companies are already building the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway in Indonesia and the one linking China and Laos. And both Malaysia and Singapore have welcomed Chinese companies to bid for a high-speed railway linking the two countries.

These projects are like silk threads connecting China and Southeast Asian countries and the best testimony to the progress the Belt and Road Initiative has made in Southeast Asia.