Hunan handled 106 China-Laos freight trains linking Huaihua and Vientiane in the first four months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of 4.9 times, according to the Changsha Customs Authority. The weight of transported goods reached 64,000 tonnes, a surge of 7.3 times from the previous year. The figures both ranked first in central China.

"With the help of the China-Laos freight train service, our company imported nearly 10,000 tonnes of cassava starch from Southeast Asian countries during the January-April period," said Li Shaoming, general manager of Hunan Mengmeng International Trade Co., Ltd. Li added that this year his company plans to import 30,000 tonnes of cassava starch which is used to make bubble tea.

The Huaihua Customs Authority, which is subordinate to the Changsha Customs Authority, provided "one-to-one" guidance for enterprises in aspects such as commodity classification, issuance of certificates of origin, and declaration of customs inspection and set up a "green channel" for import and export of agricultural products. These efforts aimed to expand imports of cassava starch. Data showed that Huaihua's imports of cassava starch grew 1.8 times over the same period last year in the first four months of 2024.

China-Laos freight train service has maintained a strong momentum in exports, in addition to an explosive growth in imports. Products including new energy vehicles (NEVs) have been the "main force" of export cargo at Huaihua International Land Port. From January to April, a total of 452 automobiles were exported via China-Laos freight trains, half of which were NEVs.

The launch of China-Laos freight train service facilitates economic and trade cooperation between Huaihua and ASEAN countries. According to the Changsha Customs Authority, Huaihua's trade with ASEAN countries totaled 1.22 billion yuan during the January-April period, a year-on-year increase of 47.8%. ASEAN has remained Huaihua's largest trading partner.

This article is from the Hunan Provincial Government www.enghunan.gov.cn.

Translator: Xiao Juan

Chinese source: hunantoday