China-Laos Railway steps up simplified customs clearance procedures

China-Laos Railway is accelerating the implementation of simplified customs clearance procedures for passengers to better facilitate bilateral exchanges, Yang Chengxin, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress and mayor of Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, said.

The railway runs from Kunming to Vientiane, capital of Laos, with a total length of 1,039 kilometers. Since its opening in December 2021, the railway has delivered more than 66 million passenger trips and transported about 74 million metric tons of goods, making it a flagship project of the Belt and Road Initiative.

The railway links the Mohan Station in China and the Boten Station in Laos at the border ports of the two countries. The two stations are about 12.5 kilometers apart and connected by a cross-border tunnel.

Passengers have to get on and off the train at both stations for border and customs checks by both countries.

According to an agreement signed in September, in the future, China's entry inspection and Laos' exit inspection will be carried out at Boten Station, while Laos' entry inspection and China's exit inspection will be conducted at Mohan Station.

Passengers traveling on the China-Laos Railway will be able to get on and off the train just once, saving time.

Yang said the two countries will further enhance connectivity by accelerating the implementation of the "one-site, two-inspections" mechanism for the China-Laos Railway.

Yunnan has a 4,060-kilometer-long borderline with Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam and is seen as a corridor in China to link Southeast Asia and South Asia.