Making ends (of the highway) meet

From an article in the New York Times:

"The Vietnamese section of the project is to be designated Asian Highway No. 14. It is to link to a highway under construction on the Chinese side of the border at Lao Cai. ... Both are now vastly more interested in markets than in strategic jostling. The highway is one of several projects integrating the economies of northern Vietnam and southern China. It is seen by government and Asian Development Bank officials as a vital spur to the region’s growth, particularly lifting the pace of development in the four poorest provinces of Vietnam."

Lao Cai is right on the edge of Vietnam (to China) and where we stopped on the train before bussing it up to Sa Pa. It'll make some big changes in the way the two countries interact commercially. Should be interesting.

Read the full article.