China has signed agreements with Thailand and Laos to build high-speed railways connecting the two Southeast Asian countries to China.
Officials said the rail link between the Lao capital Vientiane and Beijing would begin construction in 2011 and be completed in 2015.
Laos is already connected to Thailand by rail.
China is operating the world’s longest high-speed rail network with a combined length of 7,531 kilometres. By 2012 this figure will almost double to 13,000 kilometres.
Next year China aims to break the 574.8-kms-per-hour speed record set by France’s TGV train in April 2007.
