(Yicai) Jan. 6 -- Freight moved from China to Vietnam and Laos by train increased significantly last year, mainly due to the deepening trade ties between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Freight trains departing from southern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for Vietnam transported a record 37,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of goods in 2025, an 86 percent surge from the previous year, according to data released by the China Railway Nanning Bureau Group yesterday.

Cross-border freight on the China-Laos Railway, which connects Kunming in southern Yunnan province and Vientiane, jumped 18 percent to 5.5 million tons, with total cargo moved on the railroad soaring 25 percent to 24.5 million tons, the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group announced on the same day. The number of passengers transported rose 2 percent to 19.5 million.

The rapid growth of rail freight between China and ASEAN countries is driven by tariff reductions brought by the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 Upgrade Protocol, which significantly cut cross-border trade costs, Hao Panfeng, deputy secretary-general of China Container Industry Association, told Yicai.

With further railway infrastructure improvements, there will be more room for growth in trade between China and ASEAN countries, Hao pointed out. For example, the opening of the railroad between China and Thailand will significantly enrich the source of goods, Hao noted.

Container trains started running on the China-Vietnam Railway in 2017, with their number rising to 14 per week last year from three when the rail first opened, while the towing weight of each train increased to 1,300 tons from 1,000 tons, due to the rapidly growing trade demand, the Nanning Bureau said.

The 1,035-kilometer-long China-Laos Railway opened in December 2021 and has moved 62.5 million passengers and 72.5 million tons of goods in four years, with more than 16 million tons being cross-border cargoes, according to the Kunming Bureau.

The China-Thailand Railway started construction in 2017, with its first phase likely to be completed in 2028, while the second phase should open around 2030. The rail will connect with the China-Laos Railway and form a high-speed corridor linking Kunming with Bangkok.

Editors: Dou Shicong, Martin Kadiev