Vietnamese Student’s Take: China’s High-Speed Future

When Do Pham Ngoc Diem boarded her first high-speed train from Beijing to Changsha, she didn’t expect a 1,300 km journey to feel like a TikTok scroll – swift, seamless, and full of 'wait, how did we get here so fast?' moments. The Tsinghua University law undergraduate, one of many international students shaping global perspectives in China, sat down with CGTN to chat about modernization, mobile payments, and how youth could bridge cross-border ties.

'I paid for milk tea with my phone within hours of arriving here,' laughs Diem, describing China's cashless society as 'like living in a sci-fi movie.' Her 8-hour bullet train adventure – covering half the length of Vietnam in a single ride – left her marveling at infrastructure that 'makes geography feel optional.'

The timing couldn’t be more symbolic. As Vietnamese leader To Lam concludes his first state visit to China, Diem hopes such diplomacy will translate into real-world opportunities: 'Imagine Vietnamese tech startups collaborating with Shenzhen innovators, or exchange programs that let students solve problems together – that’s the future we’re building.'

With bilateral trade hitting $230 billion last year, both countries are betting big on Gen Z as translators of this momentum. Could shared high-speed dreams lead to faster connections? For Diem, the answer’s already clear: 'Every time I swipe my metro card, I’m reminded that progress isn’t just about speed – it’s about who you bring along for the ride.'

Reference(s):

High-speed connections: A Vietnamese student on China's modernization

cgtn.com