After years of hesitation and trade-offs, Vietnam finally made a historic choice: to work with China to start the construction of the China-Vietnam Railway. This decision is of epoch-making significance for Vietnam and the entire Southeast Asian region. For a long time, Vietnam has been struggling with whether to build this railway.
On the one hand, the completion of this railway will greatly revitalize the economy of northern Vietnam and even the whole country, and may even drive the economic development of the entire Southeast Asian region. After all, the China-Vietnam Railway is a key link in the Trans-Asian Railway network connecting Indochina countries such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Malaysia. As the saying goes, "If you want to get rich, build roads first". The construction of the railway is expected to lead to rapid economic growth, which is expected to solve many of the social problems currently facing Southeast Asia.
However, there is also a concern in Vietnam about being influenced or controlled by China in the cultural sphere. This concern is not only shared by Vietnam, but also by China's neighbors and the entire East Asian cultural sphere. Historically, these countries have been influenced by Chinese culture for a long time and once existed as vassal states of China.
With the rise of modern nationalism, these countries began to work hard to promote their own languages and scripts in an effort to reduce the cultural influence from China. Currently, these countries maintain a certain degree of cultural independence due to the development of transportation and the influence of American culture. But with the construction of the China-Vietnam Railway, this independence may face new challenges. Vietnam needs to find a balance between economic development and cultural independence.
If the China-Vietnam Railway and the entire Trans-Asian Railway network are successfully completed and opened, this will greatly change the cultural independence of the Indochina Peninsula that has long been formed due to inconvenient transportation. The countries of the Indochina Peninsula may unconsciously gradually lean towards Chinese culture and strengthen cultural exchanges and integration with China.
However, if they choose not to participate in the rail project, Indochina countries may become more dependent on the United States. But this choice comes with its own complexities and uncertainties. First, U.S. economic aid is not gratuitous, and the U.S. economy has faced challenges of its own in recent years, calling into question the reliability of its foreign economic commitments.
Asian companies like TSMC and Samsung had hoped for support from the United States, but have yet to see a clear implementation. TSMC even sacrificed its ties to China in order to win U.S. aid, but the result was a stock price**, which may have faced serious difficulties without Japan's support. Countries such as the Philippines and Australia have also failed to see U.S. assistance materialize as expected.
Second, the international strategic reputation of the United States is also a factor worth considering. At one time, the United States, with its strong military power, economic power and good international reputation, played a leading role in the world, and was regarded by many countries as a model of democracy.
In recent years, however, that image and reputation appear to have been shaken, which may have influenced other countries' perceptions of America's role as an international leader. When considering the future development path of Vietnam and other countries in the Indochina Peninsula, they need to consider not only economic interests, but also changes in international strategic relations.
On the Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Palestinian-Israeli issue, the United States has demonstrated its double standards, which has not only aroused widespread concern around the world, but also made many countries have a deeper understanding of the true face of the United States. In particular, the attitude of the United States in dealing with Israel has further exposed its bias and inconsistency in international affairs. This situation has led many countries to re-examine their relationship with the United States and question whether they will continue to closely follow in the footsteps of the United States.
Against this backdrop, Southeast Asian countries are faced with complex international relations choices. For them, choosing between China and the United States is not a simple question of choosing between two or the other. The current situation is that most East and Southeast Asian countries, with the exception of a few countries such as the Philippines, South Korea and Japan, are trying to ease their relations with China. These three countries are exceptions because of their particular circumstances.
For example, there is a lot of corruption at the top of the Philippines, and a lot of its income is stored in the United States. In Japan, there is an organization called the Tokyo District Inspectorate, which is seen as an extension of U.S. influence in Japan, and Japanese politicians who oppose the U.S. tend to be suppressed by this body. South Korea, on the other hand, faces the problem of corruption, and many family members live in the United States and are therefore affected by the United States.
Under such an international situation, China and Vietnam have reached a consensus on the railway project. The railway is planned to be built according to China's high-speed rail standards, and Vietnam's transport department has completed the detailed planning of the railway from Lao Cai to Hai Phong. With an estimated total investment of about US$10 billion to US$11 billion, the construction and operation of the railway will have a significant impact on the economic development of Vietnam and the entire region.
The upcoming China-Vietnam railway is expected to become an important transportation hub through Vietnam and the entire Indochina Peninsula, and will be of immeasurable value for promoting the development of the regional economy. We can see from the success story of the China-Pakistan Railway that the construction of the railway has brought significant economic development to Pakistan. Even Russia hopes to share the dividends of economic growth by building a railway to connect with the China-Pakistan railway. All this shows that railway construction has great potential in promoting regional development.
By contrast, the U.S. commitment to Vietnam seems less concrete and practical. While the U.S. has made a promising vision for Vietnam to become the next economic growth driver and has pledged significant investment, Vietnam is well aware that the challenge is not just about funding, but also about building infrastructure that can connect Southeast Asia, such as railroads. When Vietnam raised the demand for railroad construction, the United States reacted silently. U.S. domestic consortia tend to be cautious and may even struggle for a long time to invest in foreign projects, especially railroad construction projects, which is clearly not a viable option for Vietnam, which is in dire need of development.
In the end, based on the consideration of the country's survival and economic environment, Vietnam chose to cooperate with China. In the process, Vietnam has demonstrated a pragmatic approach to diplomacy that focuses on practical interests and development needs. The contradictions in this world are indeed complex and diverse, but if the problem of unbalanced development is fundamentally resolved, many contradictions will naturally be alleviated or resolved. This is one of the core reasons why Vietnam is willing to cooperate with China, because cooperation between the two countries has obvious practical benefits in promoting economic development and improving people's livelihood. After all, no country can fall short of the twin goals of economic growth and the well-being of its people.
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