Following the opening of the China-Laos Railway, a growing number of cities in China immediately rolled out freight trains to Lao capital Vientiane, providing well-timed transport convenience for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact which will be implemented within a month, while countries in Southeast Asia are sparing no efforts to boost their economies as the Omicron variant of the coronavirus is threatening to upend the region's COVID-19 recovery.