The Pan-Asia railway network will be a game-changer for regional connectivity and economic integration of the China-Asean region. It is an alternative to the marine shipping routes through the South China Sea and Malacca Strait. The previously isolated inland regions will be much more accessible for trade.
Just prior to the Covid outbreak, I was in the Chinese province of Xishuangbanna and then at the tiny town of Mohan on the Chian-Laos border. I inspected the earthen pad that was to become the foundation of the railway station on the high-speed, double-track railway that would link China and Thailand.
The China-Thailand high-speed railway is part of the 3,900km-long central route of the Pan-Asia rail network between China and Asean. The end station will be in Singapore, linking to Kunming and all major cities on the way across Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.
