Photo: Sina news

I met Hanif at CRRC’s manufacturing headquarters during my second visit to the northern city of Perak, Malaysia, in April.

I first met Hanif a few years ago when he was fresh college graduate during railway’s trial phase. He was a rookie and said he wanted to study advanced technology from the Chinese so he could use the knowledge to give something back to his country.

His dream came true after two years of hard studying and is now leads a fitters group, one of the company’s eight tech-backbone groups.

Hanif recently sent me a message that said his factory is busy filling an order of 40 unmanned light rail vehicles.

The order placed by the business group led by CRRC Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive Co., Ltd. It is the first foreign unmanned light rail bid awarded to a Chinese company. It is a landmark deal for Chinese rail exports.

“We are confident that the union will provide the first-class service for the project,” said Azim, CEO of Malaysian Infrastructure Limited, during the contract signing in August.

Chinese rail programs have experienced rapid development in the Malaysian market. In August, China Communications Construction Company Limited was contracted to build the East Coast Rail Line Project (ECRL), marking the first time for a standard Chinese rail project to be approved in Malaysia.

At the signing ceremony, locals attended to celebrate the beginning of the construction.

And there’s even more good news on the Chinese rail program.

The first stage of the Sino-Thai railway officially got underway on December 21, 2017. And very soon, Thailand will have its first high-speed railway system.

As a foreign correspondent in Southeast Asia, I am honored to see how bilateral cooperation between China and other Southeast Asian countries has gone from good to great. And the friendly relationships will reach new heights.

(Compiled by Yaoran Yu)