China–Laos relations
[2] Relations have consisted of trade and aid, largely focused on road construction in the northern provinces of Laos, without directly challenging the interests of Thailand or Vietnam in the central and southern regions.The Laotian leadership survived the dilemma by making slightly delayed pronouncements in support of Vietnam after some intraparty debate and by sharply reducing diplomatic relations with China to the chargé d'affaires level—without a full break.The low point in China-Laotian relations came in 1979, with reports of Chinese assistance and training of Hmong resistance forces under General Vang Pao in China's Yunnan Province.[6] In 2015, Laos joined the People's Republic of China global infrastructure project the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).Trade expanded from the local sale of consumer goods to the granting of eleven investment licenses in 1991—including an automotive assembly plant.