The fixed-schedule China-Laos freight train X9689 set off from Huaihua West Marshalling Station on the early morning of June 15, 2024. With this departure, the number of freight trains from the Huaihua International Land Port to ASEAN countries surpassed 1,000.

Launched on January 6, 2022, the Huaihua-Vientiane international freight train on the China-Laos Railway was the first international freight train starting in central China and heading for ASEAN countries.

The Huaihua International Land Port has actively expanded its sources for freight, collecting cargo from within and around Hunan and enhancing cooperation with neighboring provinces such as Hubei, Jiangxi, and Yunnan.

The port has broadened its channels to "go global", with freight service reaching 97 ports and stations in 40 countries and regions around the world.

The port has handled 221 kinds of goods in 16 categories, with the export of the "new three"—new energy vehicles (NEVs), lithium-ion batteries, and photovoltaic products—steadily growing.

Huaihua has boosted collaboration with coastal ports. Beibu Gulf Port, Guangzhou Port, Yantian Port, and Yangpu Port have successively established inland port facilities in Huaihua. Some international shipping companies, such as the China COSCO Shipping Corporation Limited, have set up container-returning sites in Huaihua, allowing foreign trade enterprises to take delivery or return containers nearby.

The Huaihua International Land Port has implemented advance declaration services, rapid customs clearance for freight trains, and other business services to elevate customs efficiency. Meanwhile, it has provided one-to-one guidance for enterprises on goods classification, issuance of COs (certificates of origin), and declaration of customs inspection, and has set up a "green channel" for import and export of agricultural products.

The Huaihua-Vientiane freight train service was upgraded to fixed-schedule operation last September. Since then, the freight time from Huaihua to Vientiane has been shortened from four or five days to three days at present. Beginning from April 1 of this year, the operation frequency has increased from one to three trains every week. This has greatly enhanced the port's export transportation capacity of the China-Laos freight train service.

Since the beginning of this year, the Huaihua International Land Port has handled 395 freight trains to ASEAN countries. Among them, 152 trains were bound for Laos, already doubling the volume for all of 2023.

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

Translator: Pang Yuehui

Chinese source: hunan.gov.cn