Xinhua News Agency, Nanning, January 15 (Reporters Chen Luyuan and Hu Jiali) In the mountains and ridges of the Sino-Vietnam border, the boundary marker No. 1122 stood quietly, and a train rushed by, carrying cargo across the border, heading towards Vietnam.

This is the first China-Vietnam New Year's freight train this year that was launched on the 15th. Hainan's coconut fruits, Henan's jam, Yunnan's chestnut cakes... "When you translate the name of these goods, you can feel the strong New Year atmosphere." said Xie Liping, a translator on the car.

After the train crossed the border line, it arrived at the Vietnamese Tongdeng Station in less than an hour. Xie Liping successfully handed over with the Vietnamese railway staff, and then took the bus back to the National Gate Station - Pingxiang Station, to prepare for the next train. "At the most, we traveled back and forth between China and Vietnam five times a day." Xie Liping said that such a working rhythm has become the norm since 2024.

On January 15, the China-Vietnam New Year's Freight Train was ready to depart at the Nanning International Railway Port. Xinhua News Agency issued

Recently, I received emergency New Year's goods orders from many Vietnamese customers, and Nguyen Zhigang, business manager of Risheng Import and Export Trading Co., Ltd., was extremely busy. "The end of the year is approaching, and Vietnam has also begun to enter the rhythm of 'preparing New Year'. Various types of food are in high demand. Now the most popular one is our milk tea raw materials in China." Ruan Zhigang told reporters that his company has transported food to ASEAN countries through the China-Vietnam freight train since 2018. "Now the efficiency of the China-Vietnam freight train is getting higher and higher, and it can achieve 'on-day delivery', and the transportation of food is more guaranteed."

On January 10, the China-Vietnam Freight Train was marshalled at Nanning International Railway Port (drone photos). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Hua

In 2017, the Nanning Bureau of the National Railway successfully launched the Nanning-Hanoi cross-border container train, also known as the China-Vietnam train. "At the beginning, it mainly transported relatively basic goods, with less than 5 trains running each month." Peng Weijun, deputy director of the 95306 Freight Logistics Service Center of the Nanning Bureau Group Co., Ltd., introduced that in recent years, with the rapid development of Sino-Vietnamese trade and the improvement of China-Vietnamese railway transportation efficiency, more and more freights are selected for China-Vietnamese freight trains.

Data shows that in 2024, the China-Vietnam Express trains shipped a total of 19,670 standard containers of goods, an increase of more than 11 times year-on-year, breaking the monthly shipping volume record five times. The category of transported goods has gradually expanded from basic building materials and light industrial products at the beginning of the launch to high-end electronic products, precision machinery and equipment, daily necessities and special agricultural products.

On October 17, 2024, at the Pingxiang Station of the Guomen Station, the China-Vietnam train was ready to depart. Xinhua News Agency reported that the reporter saw at the Pingxiang Railway Port that the freight traffic was crisscrossing, witnessing the "two-way" rushing of Sino-Vietnam trade. China has maintained its position as Vietnam's largest trading partner for many years, while Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN.

Behind the "two-way rushing" is inseparable from the joint efforts of both China and Vietnam. In 2023, the Nanning Bureau of the National Railway will complete the acceleration and renovation of the Nanning to Pingxiang section of the Hunan-Guangxi Railway, and the train speed will be increased to 90 kilometers per hour. In January 2024, China and Vietnam railway companies negotiated to determine the full train schedule, and the total transportation time from China's Nanning South Station to Vietnam Anjun Station was compressed from more than 40 hours to the fastest 14 hours. "It turns out that we exported goods to Vietnam by sea, but now we can save 3 to 5 days by taking the China-Vietnam train." said Zhu Shiqiang, business manager of China Foreign Transport Guangxi Co., Ltd.

The improvement of transportation efficiency has also built a "fast lane" for "grabbing fresh" fruits entering China, and a variety of fruit special trains such as Vietnamese durian have been born.

In August last year, Vietnamese fresh coconut was approved to enter the Chinese market. Two months later, the Shenlang International Intermodal Railway Station in Pinyang Province, Vietnam transported China's first ticket to import Vietnamese fresh coconut from China's railway. At the beginning of the new year, the coconut train for the new year continues to cross the China-Vietnam border from Vietnam, reaching the heart of the Central Plains of my country.

On January 15, 2024, the China-Vietnam train carrying 1,000 tons of cassava starch set off from Hanoi, Vietnam and headed for Zhengzhou, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Hu Jiali

Now, this train can not only radiate to the southwestern hinterland of my country and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, but also connect to China-Europe freight trains. Chinese goods are not only shipped to Vietnam, but also entered more ASEAN countries such as Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia, etc.

"Stable capacity, stable prices and stable timeliness have enhanced the market attractiveness of the channel." Standing in front of the China-Vietnam Freight Train Roadmap, Nguyen Huang Ying, deputy general manager of Vietnam Railway Transportation and Trade Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Vietnam Railway Corporation, said in a gesture that Vietnam is planning to further invest in improving railway infrastructure including stations and freight yard systems to achieve seamless connection with China Railway and improve transportation capacity between the two countries.