Workers broke ground on Vietnam’s first high-speed rail line.
The route will link the capital to industrial hubs in the east at over 200 mph. Southeast Asia has seen a proliferation of high-speed rail, mostly China-financed, but projects in Indonesia and Laos are expensive and behind schedule.
The Vietnamese line is using Siemens equipment, after Hanoi apparently attempted to use the German manufacturer to drive down Chinese bids but no Chinese company tendered an offer. Hanoi has in recent years sought to distance itself from China, diversifying its commercial partnerships away from Beijing, but has not completely cut ties: China could be involved in another, larger, north-south project, also due to break ground this year.