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International passenger service adds new vitality to China-Laos Railway
By Wang Yantian, Sun Guangyong, People’s Daily
On the morning of April 13, 2023, an olive green Fuxing bullet train was ready to leave the Kunming South Railway Station, southwest China’s Yunnan province, and kick off the cross-border passenger service of the China-Laos Railway.
The D887 high-speed train officially departed on 8:08 am and went all the way south, carrying the joy of both the Chinese and Lao peoples. An hour later, the D888 train left Vientiane for Kunming.
Now it takes passengers only less than a day to go from Kunming to the Lao capital, or the other way around, which has injected new vitality to the China-Laos Railway, a railway of friendship.
The China-Laos Railway was officially put into use on Dec. 3, 2021. Linking China’s Kunming, Pu’er and Xishuangbanna, as well as Luang Prabang and Vientiane of Laos, it has become a golden logistics channel that connects China and Laos and even Southeast Asia at large after 16 months of operation. It vitalizes regional economic and trade cooperation and exchanges.
“The shipping cost for cargo transport between Kunming and Vientiane has been lowered by 40 percent to 50 percent since the China-Laos Railway opened, and that for domestic shipping in Laos by 20 percent to 40 percent,” said Jin Zhiyuan, general manager of Sinotrans, a major freight service provider along the China-Laos Railway. According to him, the company will send over 100 containers to China through the railway.
So far, 25 Chinese provinces have launched cross-border trains along the China-Laos Railway, which reach Laos, Thailand, Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, Singapore and other countries and regions along the Belt and Road. The number of cargo categories has been expanded from 10 to over 2,000, including electronic and photovoltaic products as well as cold-chain fruits. The value of cargos transported has exceeded 17 billion yuan ($2.48 billion).
The transport efficiency and capacity of the China-Laos Railway have significantly improved. The time of customs clearance for cargos transported along the route has been reduced to five hours from more than 40.
The potential of this railway has been constantly released since this year. In the first quarter, the railway transported 5.16 million tons of cargos, up 215 percent year on year. In particular, 1.1 million tons were transnational , which was nearly three times the amount from a year ago.
The cross-border passenger service launched this time is of important significance to facilitating the flow of people along the railway and to promoting the development of the Chinese and Lao tourism.
It is learned that a train departs from both Kunming and Vientiane each day, and the whole trip costs 10.5 hours, including the time spent on going through customs.
“To better serve cross-border passengers, there are Chinese and Lao standard power sockets under each set of chairs on the train, information display, radio and service signs are offered in Chinese, Lao and English,” said Zhao Yingjing, conductor of the first cross-border passenger train along the railway.
It is reported that the tickets for the passenger service were sold out in just 20 minutes after they were released.
“The tourism industry has sensed the new market created by the China-Laos international passenger service,” said Yang Jiechen, head of a Thailand-based tourism company. According to him, the train trip from China’s Mohan port to Laos and Thailand is expected to become a hot tourism route.
The China-Laos Railway, like a “key” to the Indochina Peninsula, has opened an economic channel connecting China, Southeast Asia and South Asia.
The railway not only has improved the transport infrastructure of Laos, but also will drive the country’s economic development, said a Lao PhD student of Yunnan University, who names himself Wen Pengyu in Chinese.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed its intention to contest the 2027 presidential election despite the decision of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The party said Wike’s decision was personal and did not alter its position to participate in the presidential election with its candidate, Senator Sandy Onor. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, made the clarification on Wednesday.
According to the party, a recent conversation between Wike and Onor should not be interpreted as a political negotiation between the minister and the PDP.
“He told Nigerians that Sandy is his friend. And they only had a friendly discussion within the umbrella of friendship. So, that is just a personal discussion between him and his friend,” Mohammed said.
He added that Wike’s support for Tinubu did not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for the presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
Wike had earlier clarified that his support in 2027 was specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and did not amount to an agreement that the PDP would withdraw from other electoral contests. He also said he never promised that the PDP would abandon its candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“I said I will support the President from day one. I never told Mr President I will join APC,” Wike said.
The minister also maintained that his proposed Rainbow Coalition was not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), but rather a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
The issue has generated disagreement with some APC governors, who have expressed concern about a political arrangement that could affect the party’s candidates at other levels.
APC Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, Hope Uzodinma, said the governors would not support any alliance or arrangement that could weaken the APC or adversely affect its candidates.
Meanwhile, APC presidential campaign council spokesperson Ima Niboro has urged Wike and APC governors to end their public exchanges and concentrate on political mobilisation.
“When I said tone down the rhetoric, I do not mean stop working. Stop talking, go and work,” Niboro said.
He urged political leaders to strengthen their grassroots structures and engage directly with voters rather than continue exchanging statements in the media.
“All this shouting is not taking anybody anywhere. Go and work. Go and establish your authority on your political base,” he said.
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2027: PDP Insists on Presidential Contest Despite Wike’s Support for Tinubu
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