{"id":60130927,"date":"2026-04-30T16:52:54","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:52:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?post_type=news_digest&p=60130927"},"modified":"2026-04-30T16:52:59","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T15:52:59","slug":"laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market","status":"publish","type":"news_digest","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/","title":{"rendered":"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The China-Laos cross-border power transmission line commenced operations on 20 April. Simultaneously, China opened its domestic electricity market to Lao renewable energy generators, marking the first time overseas generators have traded directly in China\u2019s power market, reported Sina Finance<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 500-kV, 177.5-km interconnection project links China\u2019s Yunnan province with Oudomxay and Luang Namtha provinces in Laos. It is the largest and highest-voltage cross-border grid connection between the two countries to date, China Daily<\/a> noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project\u2019s launch was accompanied by the introduction of cross-border power trading. Solar news outlet OFweek<\/a> cited data from Foresight Energy showing that 4.81 million kWh of electricity from a solar energy project in northern Laos was transmitted to Yunnan via the line that day.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such power trading bypasses the intergovernmental agreements that previously governed all cross-border electricity flows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before this development, Lao renewable energy producers would sell electricity to state-owned Electricit\u00e9 du Laos (EDL), to be exported after the two countries negotiated a price, noted OFweek. But Lao generators can now directly participate in China\u2019s Southern Regional Power Market, which covers five provinces. This promotes renewable energy consumption through market-based mechanisms, Huang Wei, general manager of the Kunming Power Exchange Center, told China Energy News<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yunnan, in turn, will supply electricity to Laos during the dry season \u2013 when the country generates less hydropower, its key energy source \u2013 via market transactions to support local demand, the outlet reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The development also reflects significant Chinese involvement. The project is operated by Electricit\u00e9 du Laos Transmission Company (EDL-T), a joint venture between China Southern Power Grid and EDL. In 2021, EDL-T secured a 25-year concession to manage Laos\u2019 transmission assets, reported The Asset<\/a>. This gives China more influence over the country\u2019s grid infrastructure and cross-border interconnection. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Dialogue Earth\u2019s previous <\/em>analysis<\/em><\/a> of China\u2019s ultra-high-voltage grid system.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":60006649,"template":"","categories":[758,757],"tags":[585,600],"country":[20000110,20028095],"digest-collection":[50039911],"class_list":["post-60130927","news_digest","type-news_digest","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-energy","tag-renewables","tag-trade","country-china","country-laos"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLaos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Dialogue Earth\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-30T15:52:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"784\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/\",\"name\":\"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market | Dialogue Earth\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-30T15:52:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-30T15:52:59+00:00\",\"description\":\"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":784,\"caption\":\"2EKJEG3 An aerial view of local farmers reaping rice in the terrace as autumn comes, Changchun village, Shazhenxi town, Zigui county, Yichang city, central China's Hubei province, 12 September 2020.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"name\":\"Dialogue Earth\",\"description\":\"Global climate and environment news\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization\",\"name\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png\",\"width\":256,\"height\":256,\"caption\":\"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_\",\"\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/\"],\"publishingPrinciples\":\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market | Dialogue Earth","description":"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market","og_description":"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market","og_url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/","og_site_name":"Dialogue Earth","article_modified_time":"2026-04-30T15:52:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":784,"url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/","name":"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market | Dialogue Earth","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-30T15:52:54+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-30T15:52:59+00:00","description":"The China-Laos cross-border transmission line has begun operations, as Lao renewable energy generators commence trading directly in China\u2019s power market","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/China-news-digest_THUMBNAIL_Alamy_2EKJEG3.jpg","width":1200,"height":784,"caption":"2EKJEG3 An aerial view of local farmers reaping rice in the terrace as autumn comes, Changchun village, Shazhenxi town, Zigui county, Yichang city, central China's Hubei province, 12 September 2020."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/digest\/laos-first-country-to-trade-renewable-power-in-chinas-electricity-market\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Laos first country to trade renewable power in China\u2019s electricity market"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","name":"Dialogue Earth","description":"Global climate and environment news","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#organization","name":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en","@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Dialogue-Earth-Symbol-Logo_Black-Text.png","width":256,"height":256,"caption":"\u5bf9\u8bdd\u5730\u7403"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/DialogueEarth_","","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DialogueEarth.English","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/dialogue.earth\/","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/dialogueearth\/"],"publishingPrinciples":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/about\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_digest\/60130927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_digest"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news_digest"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_digest\/60130927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":60130978,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news_digest\/60130927\/revisions\/60130978"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60006649"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60130927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60130927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60130927"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=60130927"},{"taxonomy":"digest-collection","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/digest-collection?post=60130927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}