Depth report

　　

After the Spring Festival, the volume of China-Vietnam freight train at Guangxi Pingxiang Railway port increased significantly. On a train about to be sent to Vietnam, fiberboard, coated paper, daily necessities and other goods are stored neatly, waiting for customs clearance.

Zhu Shiqiang is a business manager at a cross-border logistics service company. He told reporters that in January this year, the company shipped more than 1,400 TEU of chemical supplies, plates and other goods through the China-Vietnam train, more than 10 times the same period last year.

"Originally, we exported PVC to Vietnam by sea, and now we can save 3 to 5 days by taking the China-Vietnam train." Since the beginning of this year, our cross-border cargo transportation demand is large, and the cargo volume is relatively concentrated, the railway department has taken the initiative to understand our transportation needs in advance, timely to help coordinate vehicles, booking, transportation is very convenient and fast, which helps our company to develop transportation business in Southeast Asia."

In recent years, economic and trade cooperation between China and ASEAN countries has deepened and achieved solid results. In 2024, bilateral trade reached 6.99 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 9.0 percent. Asean has remained China's largest trading partner for five consecutive years, while China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years.

As an important link between China and ASEAN countries, the China-Vietnam railway Express has also witnessed the strong impetus and huge potential of China-Asean economic and trade exchanges over the years.

In 2017, the China-Vietnam freight train was launched. At first, the train mainly carried more basic goods, and fewer than five trains per month. With the rapid development of trade between China and ASEAN, as well as the gradual improvement of railway transportation efficiency between China and Vietnam, more and more goods are being transported by China-Vietnam freight trains.

In the past Spring Festival, the China-Vietnam freight train also "incarnate" New Year cargo train, bringing Chinese New Year goods to the people of ASEAN countries. A trading company in Guangxi Province received a batch of New Year orders from Vietnamese customers urgently before the holiday. According to the customer's requirements, this batch of New Year goods is large and the time limit is fast. After much thought, the company finally chose the China-Vietnam train as a means of transportation.

Ruan Zhigang, business manager of the company, told reporters that "choosing the China-Vietnam train to transport New Year goods is that the train is convenient, fast and safe and stable, which can well meet our transportation needs."

The improvement of the transportation efficiency of the China-Vietnam train has also allowed the ASEAN fruits that "grab fresh" entering China to catch the "express train", and there have been special trains for various fruits such as Vietnamese durian and fresh coconut, so that more and more ASEAN fruits can enter the table of Chinese consumers in the fastest time.

The "acceleration" of the China-Vietnam train cannot be separated from the efforts of the railway department.

Xu Xiaoqin, senior marketing manager of 95306 Freight Logistics Service Center of China Railway Nanning Bureau, introduced: "In 2023, we completed the speed improvement of the Xiang-Guangxi Railway Nanning to Pingxiang section, and the train running speed increased to 90 kilometers per hour. In January 2024, the railway companies of China and Vietnam agreed on the full schedule of the train, and the total transportation time from Nanning South Railway Station in China to An 'an Railway Station in Vietnam has been reduced from more than 40 hours to 14 hours at the fastest."

This year, the railway department will also vigorously develop new logistics equipment, the full caliber box type into the scope of China-Vietnam train transportation, and provide customized train products, safe and efficient transportation of steel, food, lubricating oil, sulfuric acid, lithium batteries and other goods.

"In the New Year, we will continue to choose the China-Vietnam train, because fresh fruit is very suitable for rail transport." At the same time, compared to road transport, the whole rail transport import logistics cost is lower." A person in charge of a company engaged in cross-border transportation of imported fruit from ASEAN said so.