The China-Laos Railway has handled 50,187 passenger trains and over 34.05 million passenger trips since its launch in December 2021, according to the railway operator.
The cross border passenger service was launched in April 2023, with the trains connecting Kunming, capital of southwest China's Yunnan Province, with Lao capital Vientiane, to offer a convenient and efficient travel option for citizens of both countries.
Meanwhile, the China-Laos Railway's international service expanded in April this year, with a pair of trains connecting Xishuangbanna, a popular tourist destination in China, to Luang Prabang, another tourist hub in Laos.
The launch of cross-border passenger services further promotes cultural and people-to-people exchanges as well as economic cooperation between the two countries.
To ramp up transport capacity and offer a seamless travel experience, the railway department leverages real-time data. By analyzing ticket pre-sales and wait lists, they optimize train operation and ticket management, ensuring efficient service.
The China-Laos Railway is a landmark project of the Belt and Road Initiative. The 1,035-km railway started operation on Dec 3, 2021.
China-Laos Railway sees significant ridership, handling over 50,000 passenger trains since launch
China will push for the rollout of next-generation communication networks ahead of market demand in the coming five years, a senior official with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said on Wednesday at the annual International Postal and Telecommunications Expo (PT Expo).
The push mirrors the development plan recently issued by the ministry for the information and communications industry during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030).
According to the plan, a new-generation communications network with comprehensive coverage and leading performance is expected to be fully established by 2030, the 5G user penetration rate will reach 95 percent, gigabit-capable broadband will connect to 320 million households, and intelligent computing power will reach 9,800 EFLOPS -- a unit of computing performance, with each unit representing one quintillion floating-point operations per second.
"We will systemically promote the development of an application-driven and appropriately future-oriented next-generation communications network, push broadband networks toward dual 10-gigabit evolution, and advance the construction of low-Earth orbit satellite internet systems. We will also holistically optimize a communications network that links ground and sea, expand and improve computing facilities, and strengthen computing-network integration and the interconnection of computing power, so as to better support the national integrated computing network," said Yu Xiaohui, vice minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
The move came as breakthroughs in digital intelligence technologies -- represented by artificial intelligence -- brought opportunities for the development of information and communication.
As of the end of July, China had deployed over 5.15 million 5G base stations, with early-stage deployment of 10-gigabit optical networks already underway and intelligent computing power standing at 2,185 EFLOPs, according to official data.
China will also deepen the integration of terrestrial and satellite networks, including commercial applications for smartphone direct-to-satellite services and the Internet of Things (IoT), ramp up research and development for 6G base stations, and advance the development of standards in key information and communication sectors, such as computing power networks and quantum communication, according to the development plan.
The PT Expo this year is being held from Tuesday to Thursday in Beijing.
China to push ahead-of-demand rollout of next-generation communications networks
