Chinese-built railways empower locals to "fish on their own"

Driving a train that runs 350 kilometers per hour was once unimaginable for Wawan Setiawan, an Indonesian freight train driver with 10 years of experience. But now he is on track to be among the first high-speed train drivers in his country and, more broadly, Southeast Asia.

In 2020, when the China-Indonesia joint venture tasked with building the Jakarta-Bandung High-Speed Railway began recruiting train drivers, Wawan rushed to apply.