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黄日涵:Careful preparation lays ground for Sino-Thai rails to run smooth
发布时间:2016年05月24日  来源:Global Times  作者:黄日涵  阅读:8

原标题:Careful preparation lays ground for Sino-Thai rails to run smooth

原载于:Global Times


In December 2014, the Thai and Chinese governments signed an agreement on building 867 kilometers of dual track railways in the Southeast Asian country. The first line will stretch from Nong Khai on Thailand's border with Laos to its industrial eastern seaboard. 


Rightly one year after the signing of the agreement, Thailand came up with a new proposal asking China to increase its investment, which raised uncertainties in Thai-Chinese railway cooperation.

Currently, there are doubts in Thailand over the railway's negative impact on some traditional industries. But mainstream society including the Thai government and academic circle are confident about the country's cooperation with China in building railways.

They believe the project will boost Thailand's central status in Southeast Asia's land transportation and bring up Thailand's economy. It will benefit the residents living along the rails by increasing local employment and promoting tourism. 

Despite the political turbulence in 2014, Thailand still desperately needs more railways.

China has successful rail experience and mature technologies. It has achieved remarkable progress in research and development of locomotive technology, management of transportation system and railway constructions. It has the world's second longest network of trains and the No.1 longest network of high-speed trains.

Meanwhile, the railway industry in Thailand has developed slowly despite an early start-up. The obsolete equipment and backward management severely hinder the country's social and economic development.

Therefore, the Thai government has begun to push forward basic infrastructure construction. According to the country's 11th Five-Year National Economic and Social Development Plan (2012-16), the government has included the improvement of national railway systems and the development of high-speed railways. 

After Chinese Premier Li Keqiang visited Thailand in 2013, new progress has been made in cooperation between the two in this regard. The leadership from the two countries believe the cooperation fits the development needs and common interests of both and bears great significance in boosting regional linkage.

The cooperation comes thanks to Thailand's need for railway construction and the good performance-price ratio of Chinese railways. It is an important practice of China in advancing its "One Belt, One Road" initiative in Southeast Asia.

Any construction project has risks. As cooperation starts, the Chinese side should make due preparations to ensure the security of Chinese capital and safety of Chinese staff in Thailand. First, we should work on the environmental assessment of the project and bilateral protection agreement. We should also be alert about any political risks during the construction period. 

Meanwhile, we should provide training for construction staff to make them understand the political, social and religious environment there. Local customs should be respected and a sense of safety should be cultivated. All-round preparations will minimize the risks embedded in China-Thailand cooperation.

The leadership from both sides should keep engaging with each other to tack problems.

As the project proceeds, we should also be aware of any handicaps from big powers. Enterprises should shoulder due corporate social responsibilities. Only through these efforts can they uphold national interests and build up China's image abroad. 

The joint efforts by China and Thailand will bring the two countries into a community of common destiny and serve the fundamental interests of both peoples.

The author is a research fellow with the Charhar Institute and a research fellow with the Maritime Silk Road Institute, Huaqiao University. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn
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