Along the banks of the Mekong River in Vientiane, the capital of Laos, stands a recently expanded modern medical complex — Mahosot Hospital, Laos' first hospital when established in 1910 and now its largest.

Financed by Chinese funds and with a total investment of about $92 million, the expanded hospital now spans three hectares, with 600 beds and a rooftop helicopter pad.

In 2017, President Xi Jinping made a state visit to Laos — the first by a Chinese head of state and top leader of the Communist Party of China in 11 years.

Since then, there have been frequent mutual visits between Chinese and Lao leaders. In the latest development, General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party Central Committee and Lao President Thongloun Sisoulith arrived on Tuesday in Hangzhou, the capital of eastern China's Zhejiang province, formally starting a five-day state visit.

The visits have led to closer cooperation between the two countries in areas such as infrastructure, energy, trade, agriculture and people's livelihoods, including the Mahosot Hospital project.

The groundbreaking ceremony in 2017 for the hospital's expansion was attended by Xi and then Lao president Bounnhang Vorachit.

The hospital's director, Susa Vongphachan, who served as deputy director at that time, still remembers Xi's visit.

"There were several meters (distance) between President Xi and me, but I was deeply impressed by his presence," Susa recalled.

"Tall and dignified, he projected both confidence and approachability," Susa said, adding that whenever he sees Xi in the news today, memories of that visit immediately return.

Susa recalled Xi visiting Lao patients receiving free cataract surgery from Chinese ophthalmologists as part of a medical assistance program, while encouraging Chinese medical teams to continue supporting the Lao people.

In 2024, the expansion project was completed, doubling the hospital's treatment capacity. Susa said that the hospital recorded around 220,000 patient visits last year, an increase of 40 percent compared with the number before the renovation.

In addition to funding hospital infrastructure, the Chinese government has supplied medical equipment to Mahosot Hospital. Over the years, more than 10 Chinese hospitals have carried out training programs and exchanges with the Lao medical staff.

During Xi's state visit to Laos in 2017, the two countries agreed to strengthen cooperation to improve Lao people's livelihoods and advance the building of a China-Laos community with a shared future.

Since Xi's visit, connectivity between the two countries has undergone a dramatic transformation. Connectivity has paved the way for win-win cooperation, and the China-Laos Railway stands as a landmark of friendship, unleashing the efficiency of the China-Laos Economic Corridor.

The China-Laos international freight train service was launched in December 2021. Data from China Railway Kunming Group shows that more than 71,000 freight train trips had operated along the route as of March this year, while transportation costs had dropped by 30 to 50 percent.

Passenger service on the railway, which is more than 1,000 kilometers long, has also expanded rapidly since cross-border operations began in April 2023, according to the group. As of mid-May, the railway had handled 73.38 million passenger trips, including more than 840,000 cross-border journeys.

In northern Laos, the Luang Prabang station has emerged as the busiest passenger hub on the railway line. As of April, it had served more than 4.36 million domestic and international passengers, helping drive local economic and social development, according to Laos-China Railway Co.

"The number of hotels has nearly tripled over the past three years because of booming tourism," said Wongporapi Mengho, owner of a local family-run hotel. "Improved connectivity has created jobs and increased incomes for local residents.

"Now the city has a wide range of restaurants, from Chinese to Italian cuisine," he added. "The growing number of international tourists has also boosted cultural exchanges and mutual understanding."

Thanks to the strengthened connectivity, economic and trade cooperation between Laos and China has yielded fruitful results for mutual benefit, and practical cooperation has benefited the people of both countries.

Statistics from China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs show that last year, bilateral trade between Laos and China soared to $9.82 billion, a year-on-year increase of 19.3 percent. In 2017, it was $3.1 billion, according to China's General Administration of Customs.

Furthermore, China remained Laos' largest foreign investor, with cumulative investment exceeding $18 billion, according to the Laos-China Cooperation Committee, highlighting deepening economic ties between the two countries.

Beyond infrastructure, China and Laos have also expanded cooperation in several fields, such as industrial capacity, finance, agriculture, energy, telecommunications and healthcare.

Education is also an example of the deepening cooperation between the two countries.

Every time distinguished visitors arrive at Nongping primary school in Vientiane, Phanthong Khamthongdee, the principal, proudly points to a framed letter hanging prominently on the wall of her office.

Carefully preserved behind glass, the letter bears the personal signature of Xi. It was sent in reply to the school's teachers and students in 2019 — a moment that remains one of the school's proudest memories.

Founded in 1964 with a capacity for about 50 students, the school was rebuilt in 2012 with support from the China Foundation for Peace and Development. Since then, the foundation has provided volunteer teachers and educational materials, and the school was renamed the China-Laos Friendship Nongping Primary School.

In April 2019, teachers and students from the school were invited to attend a subforum of the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing. Before departing, the students wrote a letter to Xi expressing gratitude for China's support in rebuilding their school.

"We gathered thoughts from both teachers and students, and spent several days perfecting every detail," Phanthong recalled, taking out the original four-page handwritten letter.

Just four days after it was sent, Xi replied.

In the reply letter, Xi thanked the Lao students and teachers for writing to him, saying he was impressed by their happiness and aspiration for a good life and moved by the heartfelt feeling toward the Chinese people demonstrated in their letter.

To achieve common development and to make people's lives better in the countries participating in the Belt and Road are what prompted him to propose the initiative, Xi noted in the letter.

Xi welcomed the students to travel to Beijing via the China-Laos Railway, which was then under construction, and expressed his hope that more organizations like the China Foundation for Peace and Development would join efforts to benefit communities participating in the Belt and Road.

Phanthong, the principal, said the school had never imagined that China's top leader would respond to a letter from an obscure primary school in Laos.

"All the teachers and students were incredibly excited," she said. "His words gave us courage. They became like seeds for a brighter future planted in our hearts."

Today, thanks to continued Chinese support, the school serves nearly 200 children between the ages of 3 and 13. Chinese companies have also helped fund a basketball court and donated computers and books.

"Our school is now one of the best-equipped in the district," Phanthong said. "We also have volunteer teachers from China who teach Mandarin, which has attracted many local families to send their children here."

For many students, China is not only a friendly neighbor but also a place tied to their dreams and imagination.

Saengchan Saiyakhom, an 11-year-old student at the school, hopes to visit China one day. "Beijing is at the top of my wish list because I want to try Peking duck," she said with a smile. "I saw it on social media. It looks very different from Lao food and extremely delicious."

yangwanli@chinadaily.com.cn