Yunnan sees thriving cross-border trade with Vietnam

A total of 10,668 freight trains have been operated on the historic China-Vietnam meter-gauge railway as of June 5, transporting 3,463,900 tons of cargo between the Shanyao port in south Yunnan’s Hekou county and the Laocai port in north Vietnam.

A freight train runs on the historic China-Vietnam meter-gauge railway. File photo/Yunnan Daily

Since the international freight service was launched in 2017, the stable logistics via the meter-gauge railway have been a necessity for industrial and agricultural activities in the border regions of both countries, allowing fertilizers, agro-materials and other goods to flow smoothly between west China and other ASEAN countries.

Equipped with road and rail border gates, the Hekou dry port has been Yunnan’s top channel for cross-border trade with Vietnam. But as the national leaders of both China and Vietnam have agreed on more measures to boost bilateral trade, the Tianbao dry port has emerged as the second largest gate for cross-border trade between Yunnan and Vietnam.

 

Cargo trucks pass through the Tianbao dry port in southeast Yunnan’s Wenshan prefecture. Photo/Yunnan Daily

According to the commerce bureau of southeast Yunnan’s Wenshan Zhuang and Miao autonomous prefecture, where the Tianbao dry port is located, the cross-border trade via Tianbao has exceeded 1.075 billion yuan this year as of June 8, involving 192,100 tons of cargo.

Customs clearance has been quickened and cross-border cargo trade has been on the rise since the Covid prevention measures were optimized. Statistics at the Wenshan bureau showed that the daily cross-border trade value in May was averaged at 7.48 million yuan, and the daily freight volume via Tianbao was 1,403 tons, both figures exceeding those in 2019.

 

Cross-border traders go through security check at the Tianbao dry port. Photo/Yunnan Daily 

Reporting by Hu Xiaorong and Zhang Wenfeng (Yunnan Daily); Trans-editing by Wang Shixue