VIENTIANE - China has agreed to give Laos 300 million yuan (US$49 million) in grant aid and 200 million yuan ($32.6 million) in interest-free loans this year, news reports said on Thursday.
The agreement was signed by Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thamavong and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang earlier this week in Nanning, China, on the sidelines of the Asean-Expo, the Vientiane Times reported.
The two prime ministers also discussed Laos' planned $7 billion high-speed railway that would link Vientiane to the Lao-China border, which has reportedly secured finance from China.
"For Laos, the high-speed railway is considered a priority project for cooperation with China," the Laos daily reported.
"The Lao side therefore proposed that relevant sectors of both countries accelerate the process and prepare for the bilateral agreement to be signed soon."
China, Laos' giant neighbour to the north, is one of the leading foreign investors in the land-locked communist country.
Bilateral trade amounted to $1.7 billion last year, a 32% increase.
