Land-sea trade corridor's efficiency makes it ideal route for businesses

NANNING — Through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, ASEAN products — from Vietnamese and Indonesian rubber, to Cambodian rice and Thai coconuts — are steadily making their way into China.

Meanwhile, Chinese products like new chemical materials and automobile parts are being shipped overseas via the rail-sea intermodal transport along the corridor. The range of goods covers dozens of categories, including electronic products, complete vehicles and parts, machinery and food.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China's western regions to global markets, has transported over 1 million twenty-foot equivalent units of cargo so far this year. This milestone underscores the corridor's transformative role in enhancing regional connectivity and trade efficiency.

Over the years, the corridor has witnessed the continuous expansion of China's opening-up in its western region. China has remained ASEAN's largest trading partner for 16 consecutive years, while ASEAN has held the position of China's largest trading partner for five straight years.

In the first eight months of this year, the total trade value between China and ASEAN reached 4.93 trillion yuan ($693.2 billion), according to data from the General Administration of Customs.

The trade corridor's efficiency has made it the preferred route for businesses. According to Lin Zheng, logistics manager of Chongqing Wankai New Material Technology Co Ltd, shipping through Qinzhou Port in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region via the corridor reduces transport time by around 10 days compared with eastern ports, significantly enhancing satisfaction among their international clients.

The company exported 93,000 metric tons of goods in the first half of 2025, a 24 percent increase year-on-year.

Xie Gongyin, senior logistics manager at Huafeng Group, highlighted the corridor's economic impact. "Our container exports surged from a few hundred annually in 2019 to nearly 7,000 in just six months this year. Rail transport to Qinzhou Port cuts logistics costs by 10 percent and ensures reliable service regardless of weather conditions," Xie said.

As a key hub for rail-sea intermodal transport along the corridor, Qinzhou Port East Station serves as a vital gateway, sending made-in-China products to global markets while welcoming goods from around the world into China. The station has handled more than 10.57 million tons of cargo so far this year, a year-on-year increase of 29.7 percent. Notably, automobiles exported via Qinzhou Port have seen significant growth.

Speaking about infrastructure upgrades, Zhao Jian, deputy station head, said the platforms have been modified to handle vehicles, allowing Chinese automobiles to be exported efficiently to markets in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The station has set records with 706 daily loadings and 1,375 handling operations each day.

According to railway authorities, the trade corridor currently runs 24 scheduled freight routes, forming an efficient network with Guangxi's Beibu Gulf Port as the primary maritime gateway and Chongqing and Chengdu in Southwest China as key operational hubs, linking major cities across western China.

XINHUA