The China Vietnam train is heading towards the fast lane of international trade in both directions

In October, in the early hours of the morning, the lights at Dong Ying Station in Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, were brightly lit. Cranes shuttled back and forth, loading containers onto the boards of the China Vietnam train. The 500 ton timber special train then honked its horn and headed towards Guangxi, China.

This is the papermaking raw material purchased by Guangxi Chongzuo Liwen Pulp Products Co., Ltd. in southern Vietnam. Zhang Cunwei, Chairman of Vietnam International Land Port Operation Co., Ltd., said, "In the past, many trains were composed of scattered goods in one train. Now, multiple containers in one train are often the same type of goods. We have also opened various special trains for agricultural products and other products

Over the past few months, Zhang Cunwei has repeatedly traveled to the main coconut producing areas in southern Vietnam for the upcoming fresh coconut train. In August of this year, China and Vietnam signed an agreement on the export of Vietnamese fresh coconuts to China, and the export of Vietnamese fresh coconuts to China is imminent. As the operating platform of the China Vietnam freight train, we are also preparing to build a fast lane for the export of Vietnamese fresh coconuts to China

Nguyen Hoang Anh, Deputy General Manager of Vietnam Railway Transport and Trade Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Vietnam Railway Corporation, told Xinhua News Agency that the China Vietnam train started in 2017 and initially mainly transported basic goods. Now, it has developed to more than 300 types of goods. Vietnam's export products include agricultural products, electronic products, textiles, etc. China mainly transports raw materials and building materials needed for processing and manufacturing industries to Vietnam.

Ruan Huangyang introduced that the China Vietnam freight train is a two-way operation, transporting Vietnamese goods to more than 20 provinces and cities in China, and connecting the China Europe freight train to Central Asia and European countries. Chinese goods are not only transported to Vietnam, but also enter ASEAN countries such as Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, and Malaysia through Vietnam.

With the promotion and service support from the railway departments of both countries, more and more enterprises are choosing railway transportation, "said Ruan Huangyang. The China Vietnam train can shorten the transportation time of goods, reduce enterprise costs, and effectively promote trade between the two countries.

China has maintained its position as Vietnam's largest trading partner for many consecutive years, and Vietnam is China's largest trading partner in ASEAN. At the Guangxi Pingxiang Railway Port on the China Vietnam border, the crisscrossing freight traffic is a vivid portrayal of the two-way flow of international trade between China and Vietnam.

Today, 5 trains were operated in one day, "said Xie Liping, an assistant translator at Pingxiang Station of Nanning Railway Bureau. After the normalization of the operation of China Vietnam trains, work has become increasingly busy.

In 2017, China Railway Nanning Bureau successfully launched the Nanning Hanoi cross-border container train. From operating less than 5 trains per month at the beginning of the year, to breaking the monthly freight volume three times in the first seven months of this year, the growth of China Vietnam trains has been rapid. Data shows that as of September 30th, the number of goods shipped by China Vietnam trains originating from Guangxi this year has exceeded 10000 TEUs, reaching 10380 TEUs, setting a new historical high.

This cannot be separated from the efforts made by China and Vietnam in the "two-way rush". In 2023, China Railway Nanning Bureau will complete the speed increase renovation of the Nanning Pingxiang section of the Hunan Guangxi Railway, and the running speed of trains on the China Vietnam International Railway corridor will be increased to 90 kilometers per hour.

Previously, we exported PVC to Vietnam by sea freight, but now we can save 3 to 5 days by taking the China Vietnam train, "said Zhu Shiqiang, Business Manager of Sinotrans Guangxi Co., Ltd.

The stable transportation capacity, price stability, and timeliness have enhanced the market attractiveness of the channel, which can currently radiate to the southwestern hinterland and the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, "said Peng Weijun, Deputy Director of the 95306 Freight Logistics Service Center of China Railway Nanning Bureau Group Co., Ltd. This year, China Railway Nanning Bureau also organized the operation of the Guangzhou Nanning Vietnam" railway+railway "connecting train, opening up a new cross-border logistics channel for the export of goods from the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area to Vietnam.

In January 2024, the railway companies of China and Vietnam negotiated to determine the full timetable of China Vietnam trains, significantly reducing transportation time. The total transportation time from Nanning South Station in China to Anyuan Station in Vietnam has been reduced from over 40 hours to a fastest of 14 hours, significantly improving the transportation efficiency of the China Vietnam train.

Nguyen Hoang Anh stated that the Vietnamese government and railway companies plan to further invest in improving railway infrastructure such as stations and freight yard systems, in order to strengthen the connection with Chinese railways and enhance transportation capacity between the two countries.

(Reporter Hu Jiali, Chen Luyuan, Liu Tian)