There is such a country, which was rated as one of the least developed countries, was once extremely poor and awaiting prosperity-this is Laos, a country with a deep story; there is also such a country where there are many street shops, and the national economy and people’s livelihood is innovating. China is constantly developing and is known as the pure land of modernization and mystery-this is also Laos, a state of Vientiane that has accelerated its development. In 2021, Laos will continue to serve as the subject country of the 18th China-ASEAN Expo.

One of the famous sights in Laos, the Arc de Triomphe, built in 1969, is a monument built to celebrate the independence of Laos.

Walking into Laos, people will find that it has already walked out of frost and devastation with the imprint of history, writing a new chapter of social progress in a low-key and pragmatic manner, and working hard to engrave the image of a new era of people's happiness.

The expectation of the Lao people

2021 is an extremely important year for the Lao Party and state. On January 15, the 11th National Congress of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party closed. At the meeting, the most important "helm" in the future voyage of Laos-Thong Lun Sisuri was elected as the Central Committee of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party. General secretary. Subsequently, at the first meeting of the Ninth National Assembly of Laos on March 22, Thong Lun Sisuri, General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party was elected as the Chairman of the Lao People’s Republic of China, and Pan Khan, a member of the Central Political Bureau of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party The prime minister of the government and the members of the Political Bureau of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party, Zhan Shamon, Song Sai and Ji Qiao, served as deputy prime ministers.

Street view of Vientiane, the capital of Laos, on January 13, 2021. Lights, slogans and flags decorate the streets in front of the Chairman's House.

Laos practises a socialist political system, and the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party is the ruling party in Laos. After the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party put forward the six basic principles of adhering to the party’s leadership and the direction of socialism in 1991, and implemented the policy of opening to the outside world, Laos has been politically stable and socially peaceful these years.

The scene of the first meeting of the Ninth National Assembly of Laos

"Laos News" in March 2021 also commented on the democratic politics of Laos in the new era, stating that the management and construction of Laos in the new era is more innovative and vigorous-from Vientiane to the Mekong River, from the National Convention Center to Sai Sekta Comprehensive development zone, the face of a modern democratic country is becoming increasingly clear. After the conference is over, the Lao people will look forward to the new leadership to lead them to prosperity and strength.

Hope and vitality coexist

Over the past 10 years, Laos has grown into a new economy full of hope and vitality. In recent years, Laos has implemented many measures in accelerating economic development and improving people’s living standards: strengthening infrastructure construction and striving for efficient use, giving full play to its advantages to enhance regional and international cooperation, using domestic resources to vigorously develop agriculture and tourism, and deepening finance and finance. Innovations in the field, etc., among which the more obvious key measures have fallen on "internal development of special economic zones" and "optimization of foreign trade structure".

Take the Boding Special Economic Zone, which has been vigorously created by Laos in recent years, as an example. The government has adopted measures such as tax reduction and exemption for all enterprises in the special zone, exemption of import and export product tariffs, and "hand in hand" China, Japan and other countries to jointly build a cross-border cooperation platform in the special zone. , Attracted a large number of foreign capital to settle in, and established the financial CBD center in northern Laos accordingly. Today, Boding has transformed from a small border trade city in Laos to a land transportation hub and economic high that undertakes the output of China’s production capacity and radiates to the three major markets of China, Laos and Thailand. The new engine of quality development.

Laos Boding Special Economic Zone, which is building a 5G smart industrial park

Compared with the fierce domestic economic construction, the development of foreign trade in Laos over the years has been a little "desolate". Judging from the data published by "International Economic Indicators Network", Laos' foreign trade composite index in the past 10 years was 11.5. Compared with the same period, this index is only 1/8 of that of other developed countries. The reason for this phenomenon is that Laos' foreign trade export industry has long been concentrated in primary resource-based fields such as fruits, textiles, leather, iron ore, etc., and its ability to earn foreign exchange is relatively weak. In the long run, it is not conducive to the optimization of industrial structure and export structure, and it is even more difficult to become a strong trading country. In order to change this situation, Laos has increased its economic and trade cooperation with foreign investors. For example, in agriculture, it has jointly established the "Laos Chongqing Comprehensive Agricultural Park" with China; in industry, it has jointly developed Laos minerals with Malaysia and Vietnam; in tourism, Developed a border tour port plan with Thailand and so on. After optimizing multiple industrial structures, its international trade has gradually entered a track of steady growth. According to data from the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Laos in April 2021, Laos' import and export output value (excluding electricity) in February 2021 is about 849 million. US dollars. Among them, exports are about 446 million U.S. dollars, imports are about 404 million U.S. dollars, and the trade surplus is about 42 million U.S. dollars.

In recent years, Beerlao, the famous Laos beer, has become one of the important commodities in Laos' export trade.

And how will the Laos economy plan in the future? Perhaps we can get a glimpse of it in its latest "National Five-Year Plan for Social and Economic Development": Laos plans to achieve the goal of 4% annual economic growth between 2021 and 2025, and will "maintain high-quality, stable and sustainable economic growth." Social projects such as "growth", "training talents who meet the needs of development," and "improving people's living standards" are important development directions in the next five years. In this regard, Tan Daoming, an associate researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, analyzed and pointed out that there is no doubt that the "internal and external parallel" model has a significant impact on its economic development, but to get rid of the "least developed country" label, fundamentally It is still necessary to adjust the economic and industrial structure, change the traditional development thinking, and better adapt to the current world economic development pattern through innovation and development.

Impressions of Laos

When the phoenix flowers in the spring of the new year were clustered on the Kapok Avenue in Vientiane, Laos, we also heard the impression of Laos from the general population in the new era. Kam Manizhan works for a trading import and export company in Vientiane, Laos. When asked about her expectations for the livelihood development of Laos in the new era, she said that Laos’ results in improving people’s well-being have satisfied most people, but The current widening gap between the rich and the poor also requires the country to pay attention to it in future reforms and development.

Zhan Da, a professor from the Department of Political Science of Lao National University, commented that the infrastructure represented by the China-Laos Railway will help Laos change from a "landlocked country" to a "land-linked country", a high-tech industry represented by the "Laos One" satellite Let Laos distance education, medical services and other services benefit more rural people...It can be said that the benefits brought by various measures to the people are beyond imagination. However, leaders still face many challenges to social development. First, the development of water conservancy and electricity industries is still relatively lagging. The frequent power and water cuts will affect both domestic commerce and people’s livelihood; secondly, poverty is still one of Laos’s problems. There is a big "heart disease", 5.16% of domestic families are still in extreme poverty, and more efforts are needed to complete the social indicator plan.

Luang Prabang, one of the famous attractions in Laos, was the seat of the capital of several dynasties in Laos and has a history of more than a thousand years.

Wen Zaiyang, a Lao language student from Guangxi University for Nationalities, shared his social impression of Laos when he was studying abroad: Although life in Laos is not as convenient as in China, Laos has its unique charm and rhythm. There is no shortage of luxury cars and mansions in Laos, and many rural houses are primitive and simple. Although the appearance of the bus is outdated, like many advanced countries, passengers can check the location of the bus in real time on the Internet, which is very convenient. The coexistence of retro and avant-garde are words that he often mentions when describing. When talking about his views on the development of Laos as a foreign language learner in China, he believes that the educational exchanges between Laos and the people of other countries play an important intermediary role and have a fundamental influence on its domestic politics, economy, and culture. At the same time, he also suggested that people-to-people exchanges between China and Laos could focus more on the younger generation, because young people are an important force in the country's future development and construction.

Sunset scene in Vientiane, Laos

Laos’ strides in the new era have not only improved its domestic politics, economy, and people’s livelihood, but also promoted the development of the entire ASEAN region in a more dynamic, sustainable and highly integrated direction. Now, when we look back to this state of Vientiane, full of opportunities and hopes, we should say to it: "Hello, New Laos." Editor/He Yuting