Rooting a community with a shared future even deeper in the hearts of the two peoples
Originating from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Lancang River, known as the Mekong after it flows out of China, snakes through the land of Laos, bringing scenes of vitality. Since China and Laos established diplomatic relations 60 years ago, the two countries have endured thick and thin. Their friendship is like a surging river, constantly moving forward. China and Laos are good neighbors, friends, comrades, and partners. They were among the first countries to begin building a community with a shared future.
A Chinese saying suggests that neighbors wish each other well, just as loved ones would. Through patching up industry gaps in sectors such as energy, communication, and transportation, enhancing alignment of the two countries’ development strategies, and participating in the Belt and Road construction, Laos has continuously gained vigorous momentum for economic development in the process of deepening cooperation with China.
The office building of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party Central Committee in Vientiane was completed and handed over to Laos on March 21, 2016. The construction scale of the China-funded project was 22,000 square meters. (LIU AILUN) 
Police officers take part in a joint anti-terrorist exercise between Chinese and Laotian police in Xishuangbanna of southwest China’s Yunnan Province, Sept. 13, 2016. A total of 280 police officers from Yunnan’s Xishuangbanna prefecture and Luang Namtha Province of Laos participated in the 90-minute drill, which started at 10 a.m. on Tuesday. 
Employees of Nam Ou Cascade Hydropower Project hold a bonfire with local villagers in September 2016. This project was the first time a Chinese company was awarded a contract to develop an entire river basin overseas. (GENG XINGQIANG) 
On July 26, 2018, a medical and epidemic prevention team from the Chinese People’s Liberation Army arrives on a Chinese military helicopter in the dam-breach disaster relief headquarters and the resettlement site for victims in southern Laos. (LIU AILUN) 
The 230KV Power Grid Project of Northern Laos, the first China-Laos cooperative power grid project under the Belt and Road Initiative, began operation in Luang Prabang on November 29, 2015. The project, covering four provinces in northern Laos, ended a history of isolated grid operation in the area. (DU YANG) 
A local resident of Muang Mo, Laos, receives anti-drug pamphlets from Chinese police officers participating in the 35th patrol of the Mekong River jointly conducted by law enforcement personnel from China, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand, on June 24, 2015. (LU SHUAI) 
Students from Laos studying at Nantong College of Science and Technology perform dance in Nantong, east China’s Jiangsu Province, on November 28, 2019. 
Students salute the national flag as part of the Friday flag lowering ceremony at China-Laos Friendship School in Muang Xai on March 22, 2019. The school serves as a bridge of friendship between China and Laos. (WANG JINGQIANG) 
The Vientiane-Vangvieng section of the China-Laos expressway, the first high-speed, multi-lane road in Laos to be jointly funded and constructed by China and Laos, officially opened to traffic on December 20, 2020. (KAIKEO SAIYASANE) 
The 11th China-ASEAN Education Cooperation Week International Students Badminton Competition kicks off at Guizhou Minzu University on November 2, 2018. 
Kids play together after school in Hou Lau New Village, a relocation community near Plant 1 of the Nam Ou Cascade Hydropower Project. As part of the Project, 28 immigrants’ villages have been built for resettlement of more than 2,300 households, involving more than 12,600 people. The migrants have gradually changed the way of production and life, which enhanced the economic, social and environmental benefits. (WANG JINGQIANG) 
A student from Laos practices dish spinning at Wuqiao Acrobatic Art School in Cangzhou City, north China’s Hebei Province, on January 25, 2018. (MOU YU) 
On November 25, 2019, a medical worker with the China-led Brightness Action campaign examines a patient after cataract surgery in Vientiane. The Yunnan Folk Friendship with Foreign Countries Exchange Foundation sponsored a medical team from the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University to work on the campaign and provided all the necessary medical supplies. (KAIKEO SAIYASANE)
China Report ASEAN 