Zou Lei, Chairman of China Datang, attended the opening ceremony of an international forum on the achievements and prospects of aligning the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with the Master Plan on ASEAN Connectivity 2025 (MPAC 2025) in Vientiane, Laos, on Nov. 27, 2023, and inspected China Datang's subsidiaries in Laos on Nov. 28. 

The forum was co-hosted by the ASEAN-China Centre and Laos' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, as well as embassy in China. Shen Yueyue, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Lao Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Saleumxay Kommasith attended the opening ceremony and delivered speeches. 

At the opening ceremony, top government officials, including Shen and Saleumxay, as well as entrepreneurs from China and member states of ASEAN visited an exhibition of China Datang's practices and achievements in promoting China-ASEAN connectivity.   

Saleumxay recognized China Datang's long-term involvement in the development of Laos’ energy infrastructure, and noted that China Datang has become a model for good-neighborly friendship and win-win cooperation between China and Laos and has helped consolidate the traditional friendship between the two countries and improve the wellbeing of the two peoples. The Lao government will support China Datang’s operations in Laos as always, he said.

Zou emphasized that China Datang will continue expanding its international business in Laos under the guidance of the BRI. Joining hands with partners in Laos, China Datang will strive to advance regional green and low-carbon energy transformation, serve higher-level connectivity between China and Laos, and put into practice the spirit of China-Laos community with a shared future, he said.

During his inspection tours of China Datang's subsidiaries in Laos, namely the Datang (Lao) Pak Beng Hydropower Co., Ltd. and Datang (Lao) Sanakham Hydropower Co., Ltd., as well as China Datang's representative office in Laos, Zou heard reports on the work of these companies and the office, their progress in the implementation of projects in Laos, localization efforts, corporate culture building, and other endeavors, and engaged in in-depth discussions with relevant executives and personnel on the reforms, operations, and management, among other aspects of the situation of China Datang's subsidiaries in Laos. 

In his meeting with Chinese and Lao employees of China Datang's subsidiaries and office in Laos, Zou fully affirmed the achievements made by China Datang's subsidiaries in Laos, spoke highly of the enterprising spirit demonstrated by both Chinese and Lao employees and expressed care for their wellbeing.

Zou urged staff members to bear in mind the big picture, employ far-sighted vision, and make innovations to achieve excellence for high-quality development of China Datang's overseas business.

He also put forward requirements for key tasks in the next steps of China Datang's operations in Laos, encouraging various teams to earnestly implement the corporation's strategies for development in Laos and Southeast Asia and follow the general trend of high-quality BRI cooperation to give full play to China Datang's capabilities to contribute to ever closer ties and greater connectivity between China and Laos.

In addition, Zou attached importance to Legal Governance, Risk and Compliance (GRC) and placed the equal emphasis on short-term and long-term goals as well as domestic and overseas operations so as to efficiently carry out high-quality project development and construction at low costs.

He also emphasized the importance of ensuring safe development and adhering to a people-centered philosophy in team building, employee empowerment and employee competencies, asking relevant businesses to align their practices with the most advanced concepts and the best performances of the industry and build happy teams.

Executives of China Datang's international business department, China Datang Overseas Investment Co., Ltd., and China Datang's subsidiaries in Laos also took part in the above-mentioned activities.