Having personally experienced it twice during his state visit, President Tô Lâm has repeatedly expressed deep admiration for the rapid expansion of China’s high-speed rail network.
This public praise is widely interpreted as a strong signal regarding the Communist Party’s domestic policy, indicating a renewed determination to accelerate Việt Nam’s own major high-speed rail projects after decades of debate and delay.
Latest Developments: The focus on rail infrastructure was a consistent theme throughout Lâm’s diplomatic trip. He openly praised the breakneck development of China’s system, noting that in just over two decades, the country has built a network of approximately 54,000 kilometers, accounting for more than 70% of the world’s total high-speed rail length.
- After landing in Beijing on the morning of April 14, Việt Nam’s top leader took a high-speed train to visit the Xiong’an New Area.
- At noon on April 15, bilateral officials witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding regarding railway training cooperation, designed to enhance the capacity of Việt Nam’s railway workforce.
- Later that same day, during a meeting with Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, Tô Lâm proposed establishing special mechanisms for ongoing railway cooperation.
- On the morning of April 16, after concluding his schedule in Beijing, Tô Lâm and the Vietnamese delegation traveled to the city of Nanning via high-speed train.
The Backstory: Việt Nam is currently advancing the North–South high-speed rail project, a landmark national endeavor boasting the largest investment in the country’s history at 1.7 quadrillion đồng (approximately 67 billion USD). Following nearly 20 years of intense debate, the project was finally approved by the National Assembly in November 2024, with construction expected to begin before Dec. 31, 2026.
On April 12, just days before the China trip, the Hà Nội – Quảng Ninh high-speed rail project held a groundbreaking ceremony. Vinspeed, a subsidiary of the private conglomerate Vingroup, heavily invests in this private venture. The line is expected to span four localities—Hà Nội, Bắc Ninh, Hải Phòng, and Quảng Ninh—and to complete in 2028.
Huỳnh Lam wrote this article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on April 16, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine has the copyrights of the English translation.
