A grand event of the Southern Expo, connecting the friendship between China and Laos in the mountains and seas; A strand of green electricity ignites hope for the livelihoods of people in other places. A Laotian youth stood at the exhibition booth in China, telling the story of the great changes in his hometown and the heartwarming support of Chinese enterprises.

On June 13, 2026, the Green Energy Pavilion of the 10th China South Asia Expo was bustling with activity. A Laotian girl named Supa spoke fluent Chinese and enthusiastically recommended local tea and specialty handicrafts to visitors who came to the exhibition.

Cross border promotion of specialty products by the Energy Museum

Many visitors are puzzled as to why the energy exhibition area displays agricultural and sideline products as well as handmade goods. Supattong gave an answer to this, stating that while Chinese energy companies carry out overseas project construction, they always synchronize the implementation of livelihood assistance work. During the layout of new energy projects in the local area, CGN Laos discovered that local farmers have high-quality tea and handicrafts, but due to information barriers and a lack of external channels, the products have been difficult to open up sales channels. For this reason, the company specially brought local specialty products from Laos to the booth of the South China International Fair, helping local specialties to go out of the mountains and connect with the Chinese market.

Experience the New Look of Energy in My Hometown firsthand

Supattong studied at Yunnan Normal University and is proficient in both Chinese and Laotian languages. With her language advantage, she has been working as a translator at CGN Laos for two years. She said that choosing this job is not only in line with her own profession, but also witnessed firsthand the all-round development and changes in her hometown of Udomse Province relying on green energy projects.

Previously, many villages in northern Laos were located in remote areas and faced long-term power shortages. In April 2026, the first phase of China General Nuclear Power's million kilowatt photovoltaic project in northern Laos was successfully connected to the grid for power generation, completely solving the electricity problem of local residents and providing strong support for the development of local resources and industrial transformation and upgrading in Laos.

Supattong frankly stated that clean energy such as wind power and photovoltaics have helped Laos embark on a low-carbon and green development path, effectively reducing environmental pollution. What warms her even more is that Chinese companies have also rooted themselves in surrounding villages, carrying out convenient projects such as well drilling and road construction, and continuously delivering caring breakfasts to local students, benefiting grassroots people.

Relying on the Firefly Plan public welfare project, CGN has trained a total of 94 local youth in Laos, of whom 31 have successfully joined local companies. Public welfare education and training provide a growth platform for local youth, and also enable Supatong to personally participate in the construction of his hometown, helping to promote the development of his homeland.

Lancang Mekong Energy collaborates for mutual benefit

In April 2026, the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project, in which Southern Power Grid participated, was officially put into operation, and the China Laos power interconnection channel was fully upgraded. As of June 7th, the project has delivered over 230 million kilowatt hours of clean electricity from Laos to China. In addition, China has implemented various livelihood activities such as rural primary school assistance and public welfare education, illuminating the path of growth for Laotian youth.

The exhibition also showcased the overseas benefits of several domestic energy state-owned enterprises: China Datang helped local food small workshops in Indonesia, doubling the income of local practitioners; China Huaneng has landed in Cambodia, driving more than 3000 local people to find employment. For eight consecutive years, it has carried out educational activities and assisted over 200 primary and secondary school students.

Supaton took the China Laos railway train to Yunnan to participate in the exhibition, and she sighed with the great changes in travel. In the early years of studying abroad, there was no direct railway, and it took more than ten hours of long-distance bumpy bus travel to and from Kunming. Today, the China Laos railway is unimpeded, and the cross-border green energy channel continues to improve, helping Laos achieve green transformation and improve people's livelihood in an all-round way.Editor/Gong Ziwei