Vietnam is looking for China’s support with the development of the country’s high-speed railway networks, including cross-border lines that would promote trade between the two countries.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh told Lou Qiliang, the chairman of China Railway Signal Information Corp, on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Dalian that Vietnam needs Chinese assistance with railway design, construction and technology transfers, according to a statement on Vietnam’s government website.   

Vietnam’s plans call for cross-border lines linking China’s Yunnan province to Vietnam’s northern port city of Haiphong and China’s Dongxing City to Haiphong, news website VnExpress reported on Tuesday. It also wants a railway between Vietnam’s border province of Lang Son to Hanoi, the report said.

Vietnamese Transport Minister Nguyen Van Thang also sought China’s support for a planned 1,500km high-speed railway linking Vietnam’s northern and southern regions, according to VnExpress. Construction on the railway is expected in 2026-27, the news website reported.

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to fund a cross-border railway and highlighted a three-year plan to boost trade between the two countries during his trip to Hanoi last year. China is Vietnam’s top trade partner, with bilateral trade at about US$200 billion  last year, according to data complied by Bloomberg.

  - Bloomberg