The ‘potassium railway’: how North America lost a trump card in trade war with China
China’s strategic investment in transport infrastructure is helping it access Laotian reserves, securing food supply for its 1.4 billion people
Landlocked in the heart of Southeast Asia, Laos ranks among the world’s poorest nations.
According to a Chinese government study released this month, this railway has become a critical conduit for China to secure potassium – a strategic resource vital for agricultural production.
It also gives China unprecedented confidence in trade negotiations with the West.
Potassium fertiliser is essential for high-yield modern agriculture, yet China suffers from severe potassium scarcity – holding less than 4 per cent of global reserves, mostly in hard-to-extract salt lakes. For decades, China relied heavily on potassium salt imports from North America, home to the world’s largest reserves.