Huaihua, once an inland mountain city away from borders, seas and rivers, has managed to embrace the sea by virtue of its international land port. As export-oriented enterprises spring up, the three international freight trains of the Huaihua International Land Port have been operated on an ongoing basis. Huaihua has seen robust foreign trade growth. From January to August 2022, the total import and export value of the city increased by 105.1% year-on-year, ranking first in Hunan Province.

Operating 100 ASEAN trains in total

On September 28, bags, hardware, engineering and agricultural machinery made in Hunan were loaded onto trains, which departed from Huaihua International Land Port and ran westward. To ship commodities from Hunan to Southeast Asian countries, it is most convenient to go from Huaihua and transport them through the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor.

Huaihua International Land Port is located in Huaihua Economic Development Zone, with a total area of 31.66 square kilometers. Since the first China-Europe train left Huaihua for Minsk in 2018, the development of the port has been in full swing. At present, the China-Vietnam (Huaihua-Hanoi) international freight train has achieved two-way operation, and the China-Laos (Huaihua-Vientiane) international freight train and Huaihua-Beibu Gulf Port sea-rail intermodal train has achieved routine two-way operation. As of September 2022, the port has operated 100 ASEAN trains in total.

Luo Zhiwen, a Level-4 researcher at Huaihua Bureau of Commerce, said that enterprises can save 15% to 40% logistics costs if they take trains from Huaihua to Laos, Vietnam and other countries, significantly reducing transportation costs.

Foreign trade import and export value increasing by 7.9 times in the past decade

In December 2021, initiated by Hunan chambers of commerce in Laos, Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, and Singapore, among other countries, ASEAN Hunan General Industry Alliance was officially established in Huaihua. Taking Huaihua as a window and Hunan chambers of commerce in ASEAN countries as a bridge, the industrial alliance enables Hunan to enjoy the industrial resources of ASEAN.

Data show that in the past decade, Huaihua’s foreign trade import and export value has risen from RMB556 million in 2013 to RMB4.4 billion (predicted) in 2022, increasing by 7.9 times. The number of enterprises engaging in foreign trade has risen from less than 40 in 2013 to 100 (predicted) in 2022, increasing by 2.5 times.

Director of Huaihua Bureau of Commerce Tang Cheng said that by 2026, the annual cargo throughput of Huaihua International Land Port should reach 10 million tons, basically forming a logistics service circle centering on the port and influencing central and western regions and ASEAN countries. Sea-rail transport and cross-border trains should be operated on a daily basis, with more than 500 trains running per annum, and the total number of containers received and sent by the port should reach 50,000 TEUs.

(Translated by Yu Jie)