Bangkok: The opening in two months time of a bridge connecting Thailand and Laos is set to massively improve trade between China and ASEAN. The Chiang-Khong Houayxay Bridge will open in June, linking by smooth highway the southwest Chinese city of Kunming to the Thai capital, Bangkok. The 1,807 km Kunming-Bangkok highway opened in 2008, however traffic has always backed up at the Lao-Thai border city of Houayxay where vehicles have had to take a ferry to cross the Mekong.
The bridge, under construction for three years, will smooth this growing trade artery.
Last year, China remained ASEAN's biggest trade partner and ASEAN became the third biggest trader of China with two-way trade reaching nearly $400bn, a figure that is expected to crack $500bn by 2015. [04/04/13]
