In Laos, work has yet to start on what should be the first overseas leg of a rail line stretching throughout Southeast Asia, part of the new “Silk Road.” According to Reuters, the country, one of the region’s poorest, could struggle to finance even part of the $7 billion cost and has yet to agree financial terms with China. Laos, along with other countries involved in the Silk Road project, is also protesting what they say are excessive Chinese demands and unfavorable financing conditions. They have resisted Chinese demands for the rights to develop the land either side of the railway.