Construction of high-speed railways linking southwestern China and Asean countries is set to commence tomorrow, to make possible a 10-hour, 3,900-kilometre trip between Kunming and Singapore in the future, state media reported.
Analysts said the railways would boost China's integration and influence with Southeast Asian countries.
China National Radio said the new railways will link Kunming of Yunan province with Vientiane, capital of Laos. Under a pan-Asian high-speed railways plan, the line will later extend to Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, it reported.
Wang Mengshu, a deputy chief engineer with China Railway Tunnel Group, was quoted by 21st Century Business Herald as saying that, besides the line with Southeast Asia, China is planning two other high-speed railway links, to central Asia and Russia.
Talks of building these lines are still under negotiation and it was hoped the networks would be completed by 2025, Wang said. He added that complex terrain may restrict the speed in some parts to below the 200 km/h standard.
However, the Herald quoted officials at Laos' embassy in Beijing as saying that construction work on the section through their country may be deferred because of amendments to the co-operation agreement between China and Laos.