On the rails

Ethnic groups celebrate the departure of the second international passenger train in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan province, on April 13. Provided to CHINA DAILY Piti Srisangnam from Thailand's Chulalongkorn University told media that the China-Laos Railway is far more profitable than to be categorized as a "debt trap", given that freight volume — the railway's main revenue source — in 2023 doubled the break-even point, or the point at which total cost and total revenue are equal, of 2 million tons a year. The lecturer explained that "debt trap" criteria are met when a country, the creditor, is well aware that a project is not profitable, but gives away a loan anyway in order to lure another country, the borrower, into a debt trap with the purpose of damaging the borrower's economy. China is not unwise enough "to invest in a project that will certainly go bankrupt", said Piti, who is also executive director of the ASEAN Foundation, adding that ensuring profitability is a win-win approach. Many observers shared this view, justifying that if this major BRI project is a "debt trap" and does not prove successful in Laos, then the global infrastructure drive is unlikely to gain support elsewhere.