Vietnam To Build High-Speed Rail Lines With China By 2030 | Vietcetera
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Apr 10, 2024
Economy

Vietnam To Build High-Speed Rail Lines With China By 2030

High-speed routes will link Haiphong to Lao Cai via Hanoi and connect Hanoi to Lang Son via Guangxi, China.
Vietnam To Build High-Speed Rail Lines With China By 2030

Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue and China’s President Xi Jinping | Source: VNA

Vietnam’s Ministry of Planning and Investment aims to commence construction on two high-speed railway lines connecting Hanoi with China before 2030. This underscores the strengthening relationship between the two neighboring communist nations.

China is Vietnam’s primary trading partner and a crucial source of imports for its manufacturing sector. The existing highways and railway lines linking the two countries require upgrades on the Vietnam side.

One of the proposed high-speed routes will extend from Vietnam’s port cities, Haiphong and Quang Ninh, through Hanoi to Lao Cai province, which shares a border with China’s Yunnan province. Another line will connect Hanoi to Lang Son province, neighboring China’s Guangxi region, passing through an area densely populated with global manufacturing facilities.

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Track laying began on high-speed railway reaching China-Vietnam border | Source: Chinanews

Vietnam is looking to gain insights from China’s experience developing its inaugural high-speed railway network and has engaged with Chinese railway companies for this purpose.

During a visit to Beijing, Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue met with executives from Chinese railway firms, following a series of cooperation agreements signed during President Xi Jinping’s visit to Hanoi.

According to Vietnamese government data, trade between Vietnam and China in the first quarter of this year saw a 22% increase from the previous year, reaching $43.6 billion.

While Vietnam and China have been embroiled in a maritime dispute in the South China Sea for years, recent tensions have eased.