การก่อสร้างรถไฟความเร็วสูงไทย-จีน เดินหน้าราบรื่น
China-Thailand railway under smooth construction
By Sun Guangyong, People's Daily
The construction of the China-Thailand railway, a landmark project representing the high-quality construction of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), is currently under full swing.
Crossing the most densely populated areas in Thailand, the railway will inject new impetus into the development of the country's economy and transportation.
Upon completion, the railway is expected to boost economic development along its route. It will be connected to the China-Laos railway, forming a railroad artery that crosses the Indochina Peninsula and accelerating infrastructure connectivity in the region.
Pak Chong district in northeast Thailand's Nakhon Ratchasima province is an important gateway connecting central Thailand and the country's northeastern provinces. The Nakhon Ratchasima province is the terminal of the first phase project of the China-Thailand railway. Currently, the construction of the first phase project is in full swing.
At the construction site of the project, piers of viaducts are being erected along the direction of an existing track. To ensure the quality of the construction, Viloth, deputy head of a construction supervising team of the project, takes a boom lift every week to dozens of meters high to inspect the top of the piers.
"The Chinese teams have brought advanced philosophies, modern technologies and management experiences to Thailand's railway construction. The building of the railway not only better connects Thailand and China, but also brings the two peoples closer," said Viloth.
The China-Thailand railway promotes the idea of green transport and has applied green and low-carbon technologies during its construction. It will be built into a green railway that features technological innovation and ecology-friendly development.
Apart from Nakhon Ratchasima province, the construction of the China-Thailand railway has also commenced in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Saraburi and other provinces along the route.
The section 4-3 in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province is the largest one of the project. So far, 1,912 foundation piles have been driven, 106 bearing platforms built and 17 piers erected. Prefabricated beams are neatly placed at the site and will be used for the viaduct construction.
"We completed a blueprint for the civil works of the first phase project in June 2019. The civil works currently underway include bridges, roadbeds, tunnels, and station buildings," said Ma Shengshuang, head of the Thai branch of China Railway Design Corporation.
The first phase project connects Bangkok and Nakhon Ratchasima province, and the second phase will extend the track to Nong Khai province, an important town for border trade in northeast Thailand that faces Lao capital Vientiane just across a river. The second phase is expected to connect the railway with the China-Laos railway.
The Krung Thep Aphiwat Central Terminal in Bangkok will be made into a transfer station for the China-Laos-Thailand high-speed railway and the Thailand-Malaysia-Singapore high-speed railway.
According to Nirut Maneephan, governor of the State Railway of Thailand, 16.72 percent of the China-Thailand railway's first phase project construction had been completed as of mid-January this year, and the railway is expected to be put into operation in 2027.
The second phase of the project is expected to start in 2024, and aims to open in 2028, he said.
Recently, a delegation of Thai railway and customs officials visited Laos to discuss cooperation. The China-Laos-Thailand railway is likely to cut the cost of cargo transport by 30 to 50 percent in the next three to five years.
Thailand has stepped up its efforts in the past year to integrate itself into the China-Laos-Thailand railway, including upgrading its domestic transport network and railway facilities, and improving the capacity of cargo warehousing, distribution and inspection in its northeast region.
It is believed that the China-Laos-Thailand railway will significantly promote sub-regional development and bring the Indochina Peninsula into an era of high-speed railways.
Nirut noted that the high-speed railway network will not only connect regions in Thailand, but also form a railway system of the ASEAN. When all high-speed railway projects are connected as a whole, they will become a gigantic railway network for passengers and cargo that links China, Malaysia, Singapore, Laos and Thailand.
Surasit Thanadtang, director of the Thai-Chinese Strategic Research Center under the National Research Council of Thailand, said the railway network is expected to strengthen connectivity among Southeast Asian countries and help them gain more market opportunities.
The alignment between the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 and the BRI will further strengthen connectivity, lower logistics costs, and promote personnel exchanges, thus creating more opportunities for countries along the Belt and Road and promoting regional integration.
Photo shows a construction site of the first phase project of the China-Thailand railway in Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand. (Photo by Sun Guangyong/People's Daily)
Prefabricated beams are installed for the section 4-3 of the China-Thailand railway. (Photo by Sun Guangyong/People's Daily)
Photo shows the construction site of the section 4-3 of the China-Thailand railway. (Photo by Sun Guangyong/People's Daily)
More and more Thai fruits hitting Chinese market
By Sun Guangyong, Zhang Jinruo, People's Daily
"My business is exceptionally great this year," said Eiksarn, who has been doing business in the largest durian market in Thailand for ten years.
The durian market, located in Chanthaburi province of Thailand, is home to over 1,000 booths. Eiksarn runs three shops in it.
The man called China the "best destination" for Thai fruits, explaining that his Chinese clients all want high-quality durians in large quantities.
China is an important export market for Thai fruits. According to statistics released by Thailand's Ministry of Commerce, China was the largest export destination for Thai durians last year, accounting for 96 percent of Thailand's total durian exports, with a total export value of $3.09 billion.
In the first two months of this year alone, 35,000 tons of Thai durians were sold in China, an increase of 2.4 times over the same period last year.
Thailand's Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives Chalermchai Sri-On told People's Daily that thanks to the Chinese market, the planting areas of durians and other fruits in Thailand have been constantly expanded, and farmers' incomes are on the rise. More and more Thai fruits are exported to China, he added.
In a plant named Pee Yiao in Tha Mai district of Chanthaburi, dozens of workers are busy sorting, weighing, packing and loading durians. During the peak season, such a factory can handle nearly 100 tons of durians per day.
"'Pee Yiao' is the name of my mother. My family has been engaged in the durian business for three generations. After graduating from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce in Bangkok with a degree in computer science, I returned to my hometown and joined the durian business," said Chutaleth, the owner of the plant.
According to the owner, to develop orchards with knowledge is a choice made by many descendants of fruit farmers today. With the Chinese market, the Thai fruit business is thriving, and Chutaleth's factory exports thousands of tons of durians to China each year.
At present, at least 700 such durian plants in the province exclusively work for the Chinese market.
Local fruit farmer Bunliang said that Chinese merchants are straightforward and honest, and it's pleasant to cooperate with them.
"We are looking forward to selling more fruits to China," the farmer added.
Since April, durians, mangosteens and other tropical fruits have been flooding into the Chinese market. Every day, there is a train carrying Thai fruits to Kunming, Chengdu, Guangzhou and other major Chinese cities via the China-Laos Railway.
At present, Thai fruits are mainly shipped to China by sea, land and air. In particular, sea transportation accounts for 51 percent, land transportation for 48 percent and air transportation for 0.54 percent. The opening of the China-Laos Railway has brought new opportunities for Thailand's fruit exports to China.
"Durians were shipped to China by road and sea in the past, which was largely affected by the weather. Sometimes it took as long as 20 days," said Alongkorn, an official with Thailand's Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry.
Thanks to the China-Laos Railway, it takes only three to four days for durians to get to Kunming from Thailand, according to Alongkorn. He added that the railway has enabled Thailand to export more durians with higher maturity and better taste, and significantly facilitated its fruit transportation,
Yang Tai Group, a company that has engaged in the trade of Thai fruits for more than 20 years, exports tens of thousands of fruits to China every year, which are mostly sold to wholesale markets in Beijing and Guangzhou.
"The China-Laos Railway is fast and stable, which both ensures the quality of durians and lowers operational cost," said the company's president.
In 2018, a fruit development strategy was approved by the Thai government, which aims at building Thailand into a world leader in the tropical fruit trade. Advertising boards saying "building a global capital of fruits" are always seen on the streets of Chanthaburi today.
Thailand's Ministry of Commerce estimated that 70 percent of the country's fruit production this year will be exported to global markets, with China remaining the largest destination.
Monsit Paisarnthanawat, governor of Chanthaburi province, noted that the thriving demand from the Chinese market keeps boosting the durian business of Thailand, and Thai farmers, buyers and exporters have seen their income on a continuous rise.
Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanavisit said Thailand hopes to further expand its fruit exports to China this year.
"China is an important trading partner of Thailand, especially in the fields of agricultural products and fruits. Thai fruits are expected to hit the global market faster with the assistance from China, which helps Thailand in building itself into a major trading country of tropical fruits," he explained.
Owners of durian orchards exhibit high-quality durians during a fruit festival recently held by the Tourism Authority of Thailand. (Photo by Sun Guangyong/People's Daily)
China sees major progress in new industrialization
By Wang Zheng, Han Xin, People's Daily
Chinese new energy vehicle (NEV) manufacturers BYD and Neta Auto recently started building their first overseas manufacturing bases of passenger vehicles in Thailand.
In the first four months this year, China exported over 1.49 million automobiles, up 76.5 percent year-on-year. In particular, NEVs contributed 51.6 percent to the rise of the industry, and accounted for 42.9 percent of the overall auto export value.
At present, China is focusing on the development of the real economy by advancing new industrialization. The development of the Chinese NEV sector exactly mirrors the country's efforts to promote the optimization and upgrading of industrial structures and accelerate the building of its modern industrial system.
Traditional industries comprise over 80 percent of China's manufacturing sector. Therefore, industrial upgrading and transformation is of vital significance across China.
Guangdong province in south China plans to help 9,000 enterprises launch technical transformation this year.
East China's Shandong province is expected to implement around 10,000 technical transformation projects each with an investment of more than 5 million yuan ($707,684) this year, lifting the total investment by 6 percent.
Hubei province in central China is launching a new round of technical transformation action targeting traditional industries, planning to invest 12 percent more.
An official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said China will vigorously promote technical transformation and equipment replacement in the next five years to modernize industrial techniques and manufacture more premium products.
Apart from upgrading traditional industries, China has also worked to consolidate and expand industries with competitive advantages.
Today, the country produces over half of the world's important products including personal computers, mobile phones, home appliances and solar panels. It is also competitive in high-speed rail, shipbuilding, power equipment, engineering machinery, communication equipment and other sectors.
China's regions and government departments have steadfastly implemented a group of industrial foundation reengineering projects and research projects on major technologies and equipment to consolidate and enhance its complete industrial chain.
A special campaign aiming to create world-class advanced manufacturing clusters has been launched, focusing on major areas such as engineering machinery, rail transit, optoelectronic information, energy and power equipment, and textile.
China is fostering the development of emerging industries. Taking intelligent connected vehicles as an example, last year, over 30 percent of the passenger vehicles sold in China were equipped with a driver-assistance system classified as or above Level 2 in the Society of Automotive Engineers' six levels of driving automation.
Chinese NEV manufacturer Avatr has launched an intelligent electric SUV equipped with a navigation assistance system that enables the vehicle to automatically make unprotected left and right turns, avoid pedestrians and vehicles, follow vehicles up ahead, switch lanes and avoid obstacles in downtown areas.
In the next five years, China will keep enriching and expanding the application scenarios in key sectors including 5G, biotech production, industrial internet and green development. It will build more national manufacturing innovation centers in emerging industries, implement a "robotics+" action plan, and promote massive and intensive development of the Internet of Things industry.
Over recent years, China has created a forward-looking layout for future industries. It has made positive progress in technological innovation, industrial ecology and integrated application of the AI industry, becoming a first-tier player in the world. The value of core sectors of China's AI industry reached 508 billion yuan last year, up 18 percent year-on-year.
At present, China is developing new industries such as humanoid robots, metaverse and quantum technology, as well as advancing the research in the 6G technology. The MIIT is currently working on an action plan for promoting future industries, which encourages regions to launch pilot programs that accelerate the layout.
While promoting new industrialization, China is also making its manufacturing industry smarter, greener and higher-end.
MIIT statistics show that China has built over 2,100 high-level digital workshops and intelligent factories, including 209 demonstration ones. It has fostered more than 6,000 suppliers of system solutions and 240 influential industrial internet platforms.
Besides, the computer numerical control rate of key processes in China's major industrial enterprises reached 58.6 percent, and the penetration rate of digital R&D and design tools in those companies reached 77 percent.
According to an official with the MIIT, the energy and water consumption of relevant enterprises in key industries have been lowered to about 60 percent of the industrial average after the green transition.
The ministry will actively and steadily promote green and low-carbon development of industry, advance green manufacturing, lift the comprehensive utilization of industrial resources and the capacity of clean production, and build a green production system that's energy-efficient and environment-friendly, the official added.
A man works in an intelligent workshop of a textile enterprise in Suqian, east China's Jiangsu province. (Photo by Chen Shaoshuai/People's Daily Online)
A man controls a robotic arm to manufacture furniture parts in an intelligent factory in Nankang district, Ganzhou, east China's Jiangxi province. (Photo by Zhu Haipeng/People's Daily Online)
New energy vehicles roll off the line in a smart workshop of Chinese carmaker Leapmotor in Jinhua, east China's Zhejiang province. (Photo by Hu Xiaofei/People's Daily Online)
Photo shows a wind farm in Yuncheng, north China's Shanxi province. (Photo by Zhang Xiufeng/People's Daily Online)
Workers manufacture parts of central air conditioners to be exported in a workshop in Ganzhou, east China's Jiangxi province. (Photo by Zhu Haipeng/People's Daily Online)