Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm during a working session on the train with Chinese railway authorities and enterprises on Thursday. — VNA/VNS Photo

BEIJING — Party General Secretary and State President Tô Lâm called on Chinese railway authorities and enterprises to share expertise, support technology transfer and participate in the development of key railway projects in Việt Nam.

He was speaking during the meeting with leaders of Chinese railway businesses while he, his spouse and the high-raking delegation of Việt Nam, were traveling by high-speed train from Beijing to Nanning City on Thursday morning, continuing their state visit to China.

Chinese officials accompanying the delegation included Liu Haixing, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee; Chen Zhou, deputy head of the same body; and Chinese Ambassador to Việt Nam He Wei and his spouse.

During the journey, leaders of Chinese railway businesses briefed the Vietnamese leader on the rapid development of the local rail system. As of early 2026, China’s operational railway network has reached 165,000km, including about 54,000km of high-speed rail – the largest in the world, accounting for over 70 per cent of the global total.

Since the launch of the medium- and long-term railway network plan in 2004, China has built a modern and extensive rail system connecting major urban centres, with rail access reaching 99 per cent of cities with populations of over 200,000.

More than 130 county-level localities are now connected by rail. The total network length has risen 2.4 times from 68,700km in 2000.

Looking ahead to 2035, China aims to develop a high-quality transport network spanning around 700,000km, including 200,000km of railway lines that play a central role in linking county- and higher-level administrative units, border gates and key infrastructure hubs nationwide.

Expressing his impression of China’s high-speed rail achievements, Lâm noted that the system is not only the longest but also among the most widely utilised globally, with strong prospects for further expansion.

He underscored the importance of enhancing bilateral cooperation in transport connectivity, particularly railways, to support green development and national growth.

In a recent inspection of Việt Nam – China railway cooperation progress in Lạng Sơn Province, the top leader of Việt Nam affirmed that railway cooperation between the two countries represents both a demand and an opportunity.

If effectively implemented, such cooperation will help reduce logistics costs and transport time, facilitate trade, boost border economic development, ease congestion at land border gates, and connect Việt Nam to the broader Asia – Europe rail network, thereby strengthening regional linkages and enhancing the country’s role in Asian supply chains.  — VNA/VNS