Zou Lei, Chairman of China Datang, held talks with Sinava Souphanouvong, Minister of the Lao Prime Minister's Office and Chief Advisor to the Lao Prime Minister, at China Datang's headquarters in Beijing on August 14.

The two sides had in-depth and friendly exchanges of views on further deepening energy cooperation.

Yu Bo, Director of the Board of China Datang, Li Jianwei, Vice President of China Datang, as well as Valaxay Lengsavad, Deputy Minister of Ministry of External Relations of Laos, were also present at the talks.

Before the talks, the Lao delegation led by Souphanouvong visited the production dispatch center of China Datang, where they were briefed on the company's energy structure and introduced to the real-time monitoring, remote optimization, online diagnosis, and emergency command capabilities of the center.

During the talks, Zou welcomed Souphanouvong's delegation and expressed gratitude to the LPRP Central Committee and the Lao government for their long-term support to China Datang's development in Laos.

Executives of China Datang hold talks with a Lao delegation led by Sinava Souphanouvong, Minister to the Lao Prime Minister's Office and Chief Advisor to the Lao Prime Minister.

China and Laos are friendly neighbors, good friends, good partners, and good comrades to each other, Zou said, noting that the new version of the action plan for building the China-Laos community with a shared future, signed by Chinese President Xi Jinping and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith, has outlined a grand blueprint for the development of China-Laos relations in the new era and provided guidance for the investment and development of major Chinese enterprises in Laos.

Laos has entered a fast lane of development and boasts of abundant natural resources for the development of power industry, Zou pointed out.

He emphasized that China Datang attaches great importance to investment and development in Laos and is willing to actively align with and integrate into Laos' Energy Strategy through high-quality cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

While ensuring smooth implementation of investment and construction plans for the Pak Beng Hydropower Project and Sanakham hydropower project in Laos, China Datang stands ready to intensify exchanges and cooperation with Laos, Zou said. 

With efforts focused on such fields as new energy, geothermal energy, coal, and coal chemical industry, China Datang hopes to work together with its Lao partners to deliver flagship BRI projects like the China-Laos Railway, thus contributing to the green transformation and development of Laos as well as the supply of power and energy in the country, according to Zou. 

Souphanouvong thanked China Datang for its active participation in energy and power development in Laos and its contribution to the economic development of Laos.

He said that China and Laos are connected by mountains and rivers and that the two countries enjoy a long-standing traditional friendship.

Noting that this year marks the beginning of the efforts to implement the new version of the action plan for building the China-Laos community with a shared future, Souphanouvong said Laos is ready to work together with China to put into practice the important consensus reached by both sides through practical actions.

China Datang has great strength and is an important company investing and operating in Laos, Souphanouvong said.

Laos is endowed with abundant resources such as water, wind, and geothermal energy, Souphanouvong pointed out. He said that he hopes China Datang will strengthen communication and coordination with its Lao partners in fields such as hydropower, wind power, geothermal energy, green hydrogen, and coal chemical industry, under the guidance of the BRI and Laos' Energy Strategy, so as to continuously deepen cooperation and contribute to the realization of Laos' goal of green and low-carbon development.

Lao officials and China Datang executives in charge of relevant departments and subsidiaries also attended the talks.