Landmark trade corridor reports record annual train volume in 2024

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China's western regions to global markets -- the ASEAN market in particular -- has surpassed a milestone volume of 10,000 rail-sea intermodal train journeys this year, according to Beibu Gulf Port Group.

On Monday morning, a cargo train carrying 90 containers departed from the Qinzhou railway container center station in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, bound for Chongqing, an inland metropolis in southwestern China.

The departure marked the first time that the annual train volume has reached 10,000 on the corridor, commonly known as the new western land-sea corridor, reflecting a 5.1 percent year-on-year increase, the company said.

In September 2017, the southward corridor from Chongqing to Singapore via Guizhou Province and Guangxi -- the precursor to the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor -- was debuted. By August 2019, a plan from the National Development and Reform Commission elevated the corridor from a local initiative to a strategic national project.

Anchored in Chongqing and supported by critical nodes in key provincial-level regions of western China, the corridor utilizes a blend of rail, sea and road transportation to connect China with global destinations via coastal and border ports in Guangxi and Yunnan Province.

The corridor's intermodal rail-sea service has seen a remarkable rise in train journey volumes, expanding from 178 trains in its first year to over 10,000 this year.

A key highlight of this year has been the surge in foreign trade with RCEP countries. The corridor facilitated the transportation of 87,846 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) to and from RCEP member countries, a 32 percent year-on-year increase.

Goods transported via the corridor have expanded to 1,166 categories. The cargo service now covers 73 domestic cities and connects to 542 ports in 125 countries and regions globally.

"The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor has transformed from a single route into a network, linking diverse cultures and economies," said Lei Xiaohua, a researcher at the Guangxi Academy of Social Sciences. "It also offers countries along the corridor an efficient gateway to the global industrial chain."