In recent years, the trend of learning Chinese has continued to heat up worldwide. By the end of 2025, international Chinese education has covered 212 countries and regions worldwide, with over 200 million learners and users. Chinese has been included in the national education system of 90 countries. In this global "Chinese fever", Laos is a particularly vivid epitome. In 2026, coinciding with the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Laos and the "Chinese Old Friends Good Year", Chinese is transforming from a "language of interest" to a "golden key" for Laotian youth to achieve their career dreams, and has become a solid bridge for industrial collaboration and people to people communication between China and Laos. A railway, let Chinese become the "employment pass" "I will always stay here and operate this railway well. ”When 27 year old Laotian youth Liu Yinneng said this sentence fluently in Chinese, his tone was firm and proud. He is one of the first Laotian employees of the China Laos Railway to obtain independent duty qualification. A few years ago, he could not speak a Chinese word. Before the opening of the China Laos Railway, there was only a 3.5km long meter gauge railway in Laos, and the standard gauge railway was zero. Many railway terms could not even find corresponding expressions in the Lao language. In December 2021, the China Laos Railway will be officially opened to traffic. This landmark project of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" has not only completely changed the millennium dilemma of Laos' "landlocked country", but also created an urgent demand for bilingual skilled talents, making Chinese skills become the "hard currency" in the eyes of Lao youth. In order to meet the demand for bilingual talents in railway operations, Lao Zhong Railway Co., Ltd. has partnered with the Confucius Institute at Souvannu Phong University to offer a "Chinese+Railway Technology" training course. With the support of the Luang Prabang Maintenance Management Center, Lao employees can learn and master railway professional Chinese terminology and operational skills through "bilingual night schools" and "mentorship pairing" models. Up to now, the proportion of Laos employees of the China Laos Railway has reached 63%, and many small stations along the line have realized localized operation. The proportion of Laotian employees who understand the profession and speak Chinese has jumped from 5% in the initial stage of opening to 61%, and the proportion of Laotian employees at the Vientiane Transport Center is expected to reach 80% by the end of 2026. The growth stories of Laotian youth confirm the same possibility: learning Chinese well can catch the fast train of development. At one point, green electricity made Chinese a "technological bridge". The photovoltaic panels of CGN's clean energy base in northern Laos operate in the morning, and a group of young Laotian engineers who understand both Chinese and technology are active on the construction site. Their growth cannot be separated from the systematic training of "Chinese+vocational skills", which also demonstrates the key role of language in technology dissemination. The "2+2+2" employee training model created by EDLT integrates language training and technical teaching in depth: 2 months of intensive Chinese language training at the Confucius Institute of Souvannu Phong University, 2 months of studying professional theories and technical specifications in Yunnan, China, and finally 2 months of returning to Laos for practical exercises. This model effectively breaks through the restriction of language barriers on technology communication, completes the transformation from "giving people fish" to "giving people fish", and makes Chinese truly become the common language for technical communication in the field of China Laos energy cooperation. The Confucius Institute at Souvannu Phong University has partnered with CGN Laos to launch a 10-12 month training program for "Chinese+Production and Operations Targeted Talents". 34 Laotian students have mastered the professional skills of electrical engineering and bilingual communication abilities in Chinese and English through systematic courses. After graduation, they were given priority employment by enterprises and gradually grew into the backbone of project localization development. In February 2026, the China Laos 500 kV interconnection project will be fully connected, and after being put into operation, the two-way power mutual assistance capacity will reach 1.5 million kilowatts, with an average annual transmission of about 3 billion kilowatt hours of clean electricity to Laos. The efficient operation of these green energy projects relies on batches of local technical talents who understand Chinese. Language dissemination is becoming an important support for the high-quality development of China Laos energy cooperation. With a mobile phone, Chinese has become the "revenue increase password". In the context of the opening and operation of the China Laos Railway, the railway cold chain logistics has opened the "fast lane" for high-quality agricultural products such as Laos bananas, mangosteen, cassava to enter the Chinese market, and cross-border commerce and trade ushered in new opportunities. Local logistics, customs declaration, and e-commerce operation talents who understand Chinese have quickly become a "hot commodity", and Chinese skills are transforming into a "door opener" for Laotian youth to achieve income growth and prosperity. The training of digital economy skills through mobile phones is becoming a new path for language empowerment in trade. The Kunming Association for International Economic and Technological Cooperation has launched a benchmark digital economy training program in Laos, focusing on mobile e-commerce operations and online live streaming. The program teaches Laotian university students how to start cross-border entrepreneurship with just one mobile phone. The training is closely linked with the logistics convenience brought by the China Laos Railway and the huge consumer market in China, so that young people who master Chinese can directly complete product display, customer communication and transaction transformation through mobile phone screens, truly transforming the advantages of Chinese language into real economic benefits. This practice has become a typical case of deep integration of people to people and cultural exchanges and skill cooperation under the framework of the "the Belt and Road Initiative", which vividly interprets the era connotation of "a mobile phone, making Chinese a password for income increase". 2026 marks the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Laos, and is also a good year for old friends. The construction of a community with a shared future between China and Laos has entered a new stage, and the prospects for international Chinese education to serve the development of Laos' industry are even broader. From a railway to a green light and a mobile phone, Chinese is leaving a profound mark on the industrial map of Laos and building an unbreakable bridge of friendship between the two peoples. (Song Minying was the Chinese director of the Confucius Institute at Souvannu Phong University in Laos)