Four lanes of hope in China and Vietnam
Cripes. Diplomacy that's actually intended to
advance both parties.
Lao Cai - Hekou border bridge at twilight
On a frontier where Vietnamese and Chinese soldiers exchanged bullets in a short but bloody war nearly three decades ago, construction workers from the two countries will soon join forces to build a highway that promises to bring new wealth to their once heavily guarded border regions.
Plans for a four-lane highway from Hanoi to Kunming cleared the last hurdle on Friday when the board of the Asian Development Bank gave the green light to a loan that will underwrite the Vietnamese side of the project.
By 2012, when the highway is supposed to be completed, a journey that now takes three days by truck could take just nine hours. Goods made in China’s Yunnan Province would have quick access to the Vietnamese seaport of Haiphong, and Vietnamese exporters should be able to reach untapped markets in China.
“Both countries are reaping the fruits of peace and cooperation,” said Ayumi Konishi, the Asian Development Bank’s country director in Vietnam. “In one generation, they have moved from tanks and troops to trade and tourism.”
What a novel idea - relying on commerce to assist diplomacy.
Posted: Fri - December 14, 2007 at 01:30 PM