The Chinese stretch of a trans-national highway linking Kunming city in the southwest Yunnan Province with the Thai capital of Bangkok was completed on Friday, marking progress in a land link from China to Southeast Asia.

The 688-kilometer Chinese section starts in Yunnan provincial capital Kunming and stops at Mohan, an important trade port on the Sino-Laotian border. The first stretch of the section -- from Kunming to Yuxi -- was completed in April 1999. The total length will be 1,887 km.

The opening of the Chinese section will reduce the travel time from Kunming to Bangkok by half, to about 20 hours.

Qin Guangrong, Yunnan's governor, said at the opening ceremony: "The opening of the Chinese stretch will greatly enhance transport facilities and promote common development and the prosperity of people of the nations along the road."

The sections in Thailand and Laos have been almost completed, except for a bridge linking the two nations.