老撾：強(qiáng)基建 方能聯(lián)世界

黎敏

對(duì)于東盟大多數(shù)國(guó)家而言，他們都有加強(qiáng)交通基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)的意愿，作為東盟中唯一的內(nèi)陸國(guó)，老撾的這一意愿顯得更為迫切。通過(guò)制定“變陸鎖國(guó)為陸聯(lián)國(guó)”的國(guó)家戰(zhàn)略，老撾向世界大聲宣告著她希望聯(lián)通世界的決心。

從共建“一帶一路”，到關(guān)注國(guó)際陸海貿(mào)易新通道（以下簡(jiǎn)稱“陸海新通道”）建設(shè)，從參與瀾湄合作、泛北部灣經(jīng)濟(jì)合作，到借勢(shì)中國(guó)—東盟博覽會(huì)，老撾正依托自身聯(lián)通中國(guó)與多個(gè)東盟國(guó)家的區(qū)位優(yōu)勢(shì)，在各個(gè)重要的舞臺(tái)上為自身交通基建謀求發(fā)展機(jī)會(huì)，以贏得聯(lián)通世界的入場(chǎng)券。近期，在接受本刊記者專訪時(shí)，老撾萬(wàn)象市副市長(zhǎng)兼計(jì)劃與投資廳廳長(zhǎng)普孔·班那翁也表達(dá)了這樣的意愿。

加強(qiáng)交通基建，老撾發(fā)展的必然選擇

老撾北接中國(guó)云南省，東臨越南，可連接越南峴港、海防，南靠柬埔寨，西與泰國(guó)、緬甸相連，可連接泰國(guó)曼谷、林查班港;位于連結(jié)中國(guó)與東盟國(guó)家的中間陸路通道上。

“眾所周知，老撾是一個(gè)內(nèi)陸國(guó)家，這對(duì)于我們要打造的區(qū)域陸路運(yùn)輸樞紐而言，既是機(jī)遇也是挑戰(zhàn)。”普孔·班那翁說(shuō)，“交通互聯(lián)互通是把老撾從‘陸鎖國(guó)變?yōu)椤懧?lián)國(guó)的一個(gè)前提條件，通過(guò)鐵路、公路與鄰國(guó)連結(jié)，老撾能夠提供更多的轉(zhuǎn)口路線。因此，我們強(qiáng)烈同意交通基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的互聯(lián)互通是‘一帶一路建設(shè)的關(guān)鍵問(wèn)題?！?/p>

而在資金方面，老撾仍然期待私營(yíng)部門，包括外國(guó)投資者參與老撾的交通基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)?！袄蠐胝寻l(fā)展國(guó)民經(jīng)濟(jì)作為社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的重要抓手，希望通過(guò)包括國(guó)際社會(huì)在內(nèi)的力量對(duì)交通基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)予以支持，以便利人民的出行和貿(mào)易，帶動(dòng)旅游業(yè)和投資的發(fā)展?！逼湛住ぐ嗄俏陶f(shuō)。

而在老撾基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施建設(shè)的過(guò)程中，我們不難看到中國(guó)企業(yè)的身影。

中老合作，助力老撾聯(lián)通世界

“‘一帶一路，有你有我，大小問(wèn)題，共同面對(duì)……”這是3年前老撾搖滾神曲《“一帶一路”》中的歌詞，唱出了中老兩國(guó)的深厚情誼。

“老中兩國(guó)是全面戰(zhàn)略合作伙伴，毗鄰而居，正在積極構(gòu)建命運(yùn)共同體，我們大力支持‘一帶一路建設(shè)，它將為老撾和首都萬(wàn)象帶來(lái)發(fā)展紅利?！逼湛住ぐ嗄俏陶f(shuō)。2016年，中老兩國(guó)簽署共建“一帶一路”合作文件，并于次年簽署了共建中老經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊的合作文件。2019年4月，兩國(guó)又簽署了《關(guān)于構(gòu)建中老命運(yùn)共同體行動(dòng)計(jì)劃》，在地區(qū)和國(guó)際上具有重要引領(lǐng)和示范意義。這些都推動(dòng)著中老關(guān)系持續(xù)向前發(fā)展，讓兩國(guó)關(guān)系處于歷史最好時(shí)期。

打開(kāi)地圖可以看到，建設(shè)中的中老經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊由西北向東南，宛如一把鑰匙，不但打開(kāi)了老撾“陸鎖國(guó)”這把鎖，也在中南半島腹部打造了一條輻射緬甸、泰國(guó)、柬埔寨、越南等國(guó)的通道。中老經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊與中老鐵路相伴而生，惠及當(dāng)?shù)?，?duì)驅(qū)動(dòng)老撾經(jīng)濟(jì)社會(huì)發(fā)展、推動(dòng)中老命運(yùn)共同體建設(shè)具有深遠(yuǎn)意義。

“截至2020年8月，老中鐵路已經(jīng)完成了91%的建設(shè)，有望在2021年竣工。這條鐵路建成后，將成為連接老撾和中國(guó)、其他東盟國(guó)家的重要通道?！逼湛住ぐ嗄俏陶f(shuō)，“這條具有歷史意義的鐵路，必將使老撾從‘陸鎖國(guó)變?yōu)椤懧?lián)國(guó)，在未來(lái)成為區(qū)域和國(guó)際互聯(lián)互通的紐帶，促進(jìn)社會(huì)經(jīng)濟(jì)、旅游業(yè)、外商投資發(fā)展，并為消除貧困創(chuàng)造條件，為人民創(chuàng)造就業(yè)機(jī)會(huì)。它將是一個(gè)進(jìn)一步改善我們城市及地區(qū)發(fā)展的偉大機(jī)會(huì)。”

據(jù)悉，在2019年舉行的第二屆“一帶一路”國(guó)際合作高峰論壇設(shè)施聯(lián)通分論壇上，中國(guó)、老撾、泰國(guó)簽署了三國(guó)政府間關(guān)于萬(wàn)象—廊開(kāi)鐵路連接線的合作備忘錄。通過(guò)三方鐵路的銜接，為老撾又打開(kāi)了一扇擁抱世界的大門。

目前由中國(guó)與東盟國(guó)家共同打造的“陸海新通道”，在陸海貿(mào)易、旅游和人文交流等方面正在發(fā)揮重要作用。“老中兩國(guó)在《關(guān)于構(gòu)建老中命運(yùn)共同體行動(dòng)計(jì)劃》中提出，要適時(shí)將老撾納入‘陸海新通道建設(shè)?！逼湛住ぐ嗄俏陶f(shuō)，“老撾對(duì)陸海新通道的發(fā)展予以了越來(lái)越多的關(guān)注，希望通過(guò)這條新通道，老撾能加強(qiáng)與中國(guó)及其他東盟國(guó)家的互聯(lián)互通，并進(jìn)一步推動(dòng)港口之間的合作?！?/p>

2020年8月，在瀾滄江—湄公河合作第三次領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人會(huì)議上，瀾湄合作成功實(shí)現(xiàn)了與“陸海新通道”的對(duì)接，這些利好都為老撾?yún)⑴c“陸海新通道”建設(shè)提供了新的契機(jī)。

園區(qū)合作，助力老撾產(chǎn)業(yè)發(fā)展

經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)是老撾產(chǎn)業(yè)和經(jīng)濟(jì)發(fā)展的重點(diǎn)，也是中老經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊建設(shè)的關(guān)鍵，自2002年起，老撾在全國(guó)共建有12個(gè)經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)，目前與中老經(jīng)濟(jì)走廊及“陸海新通道”建設(shè)最為相關(guān)的經(jīng)濟(jì)特區(qū)主要是磨憨—磨丁經(jīng)濟(jì)合作區(qū)和萬(wàn)象賽色塔綜合開(kāi)發(fā)區(qū)。

磨憨—磨丁經(jīng)濟(jì)合作區(qū)處于泛亞鐵路中線、昆曼公路、磨萬(wàn)高速等交通網(wǎng)絡(luò)與中國(guó)西南交通網(wǎng)絡(luò)無(wú)縫對(duì)接的重要節(jié)點(diǎn)，同時(shí)也是中老泰三國(guó)陸路貨物運(yùn)輸、跨境旅游的中轉(zhuǎn)站和集散地。而隨著中老鐵路和“一帶一路”建設(shè)的不斷推進(jìn)，萬(wàn)象賽色塔綜合開(kāi)發(fā)區(qū)也吸引著越來(lái)越多的企業(yè)前來(lái)投資。2018年，由老中聯(lián)合投資有限公司和青島港招商局國(guó)際集裝箱碼頭有限公司共同出資組建的老撾萬(wàn)象賽色塔運(yùn)營(yíng)管理有限公司正式揭牌運(yùn)營(yíng)，負(fù)責(zé)賽色塔綜合開(kāi)發(fā)區(qū)的運(yùn)營(yíng)和管理工作。

普孔·班那翁表示，盡管當(dāng)前全球經(jīng)貿(mào)形勢(shì)面臨變化，但老撾對(duì)于外商投資依舊持開(kāi)放態(tài)度。在中老關(guān)系良好發(fā)展的基礎(chǔ)上，希望有更多中國(guó)企業(yè)到老撾投資興業(yè)，共享老撾發(fā)展機(jī)遇。

Most ASEAN countries have the desire to strengthen their transport infrastructure construction， and Laos， the only landlocked country in ASEAN， has its wishes to express more straightforward in this regard. Formulating the national strategy of “transforming Laos the landlocked country into a maritime transit and achieve regional and international connectivity in the future”， Laos is declaring to the world its determination to connect itself to the rest of the world.

From building the Belt and Road Initiative， to concerning the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor （NILSTC） and from the participation of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation and the Pan-Beibu Gulf Economic Cooperation to the China-ASEAN Expo， Laos is sparing no efforts to connect to the rest of the world by seeking opportunities in important stages to develope its own transportation infrastructure， highlighting its location advantages of linking China and ASEAN countries. Recently， in an exclusive interview with China-ASEAN Panorama， H.E. Phoukhong Bannavong， Vice Mayor of Vientiane and Director-General of Planning and Investment of Vientiane Capital， Lao PDR， also expressed such wishes.

Strengthening transportation infrastructure is a must for Laos development

With Yunnan Province of China in the north， Vietnams Danang and Haiphong Vietnam in the east， Cambodia in the south， and Thailand and Myanmar in the west that connects to Bangkok and Laem Chabang port in Thailand， Laos is located in the middle land corridor connecting China and ASEAN countries.

“As is known to all， Lao PDR is located in the central Asian countries and a landlocked country. From such special points， Lao PDR has both opportunities and challenges for transforming Laos into the central connectivity for road transport links between regions，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “The link is the initial need for Lao PDR to be a land link country for maritime connectivity supporting export-import goods from foreign countries， including transit to the 3rd countries， especially ASEAN countries which transport goods by sea， railway and vehicle. For this reason， we strongly agree that the connectivity of the transport infrastructure is a key issue of the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China in 2013.”

In terms of funding， Laos still expects the private sector， including foreign investors， to participate in the construction of Laos transportation infrastructure. “The Lao government has implemented the national economic development as the important point for social-economic development， including international supports the basic transport development to promote peoples travelling and trading， and promoting tourism and investment，” said Phoukhong Bannavong.

In the work of infrastructure construction of Laos， it is not difficult to see the presence of Chinese enterprises.

China-Laos cooperation helps Laos connect the rest of the world

“The Belt and Road Initiative， concerns you and me， and problems of big or small， lets face together.” are the lyrics of a rock and roll hit song of Laos entitled The Belt and Road released 3 years ago that shows the deep friendship between China and Laos. The China-Laos cooperation has a long history， with friendly exchanges and cooperation continuously deepened.

“Lao PDR is a long-term strategic partner， a neighbor and is in the same fate， therefore， we strongly support the initiated ideas on the Belt and Road of Chinese President Xi Jinping， which the initiative has brought benefits to Lao PDR and Vientiane Capital，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. In 2016， China and Laos signed a cooperation document on the Belt and Road Initiative. In 2017， the two countries also signed cooperation documents on jointly building the China-Laos Economic Corridor. In April 2019， both countries signed the Action Plan for Building a China-Laos Community of Shared Future， which is of important leading and exemplary significance in the regional and international fields. All these efforts have promoted the continuous development of the China-Laos relationship and taken it now to the best period of history.

Opening the map， one can see that the China-Laos Economic Corridor under construction running from northwest to southeast looks like a key， which not only opens Laos， the “l(fā)andlocked country”， but also creates in the hinterland of Indochina Peninsula a corridor that connects Myanmar， Thailand， Cambodia， Vietnam and other countries. The economic corridor between China and Laos is being built along with the China-Laos railways， which is expected to benefit the local economy， and has far-reaching significance in driving the economic and social development of Laos and promoting the construction of the community of shared future of China and Laos.

“In 2021， the China-Laos railway project is expected to be completed. With the most recent progress in August 2020， it has completed 91% of the plan. After completion， the railway will be an important route in Lao PDR and connection between China and ASEAN countries with Laos as the connection，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “For this historic railway， it will surely transform Lao PDR the landlocked country into a maritime transit achieve regional and international connectivity in the future， and promote socio-economic development， tourism and foreign investment; It will also create conditions for the poverty eradication mission， create jobs for the people and the key potential to lead our nation out of the poverty as planned and it will be a great opportunity to further improve our cities.”

At the sub-forum of facility connectivity of the 2nd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation held in 2019， China， Laos and Thailand signed a memorandum of cooperation of the three national governments on the Vientiane-Nong Khai Railway Line. The connection of the tripartite railways will open one more door for Laos to embrace the world.

It is particularly worth mentioning that the NILSTC jointly built by China and ASEAN countries is playing an important role in land and sea trade， tourism and people-to-people exchanges. “In April 2019， in signing the Action Plan for Building a China-Laos Community of Shared Future， the two countries proposed to “include Laos in building the NILSTC，” said Phoukhong Bannavong. He added， “Therefore， we attached increasing attention and importance on the development of the NILSTC. We hope that through the new corridor， Laos can strengthen connectivity with China and other ASEAN countries， and further improve cooperation among ports.”

In August 2020， the successful alignment of Lancang-Mekong Cooperation with the NILSTC at the 3rd Lancang-Mekong River Cooperation Leader Meeting provided a new opportunity for Laos to participate in the NILSTC.

Development zone cooperation helps Laos? industrial development

Special economic zones are the focus of Laos industrial and economic development， and also the key to the construction of China-Laos Economic Corridor. Since 2002， Laos has created 12 special economic zones throughout the country. At present， the special economic zones that are most closely related to the construction of China-Laos Economic Corridor and the NILSTC are Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone and Saysettha Development Zone in Vientiane.

Mohan-Boten Economic Cooperation Zone is an important node for the seamless connection between the transportation networks such as the middle line of Pan Asian Railway， Kunming-Mandalay highway and Mohan-Vientiane expressway， and the transportation network of Southwest China. It is also a transit station and distribution center for land freight transportation and cross-border tourism of China， Laos and Thailand. With the advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China-Laos railway， Saysettha Development Zone is attracting more and more enterprises to make investments. In 2018， Vientiane Saysettha Operation and Management Co.， Ltd.， jointly funded by Laos-China United Investment Co.， Ltd. and Qingdao Port China Merchants International Container Terminal Co.， Ltd.， was officially opened for operation which handles the management of Saysettha Development Zone.

Phoukhong Bannavong said that despite the changing current global economic and trade situation， Laos is still open to foreign investment， on the basis of the sound development of China-Laos relations. He? looks forward to more Chinese enterprises will invest in Laos and share the development opportunities of Laos.