The first train operating on the "Xi'an-Hanoi" China-Vietnam international freight train route arrived at Pingxiang Railway Checkpoint, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Aug 26 and then arrived in Vietnam on Aug 27.

The train, loaded with 41 wagons of asbestos from Kazakhstan, was on its way back from conducting the China-Europe freight train route. After arriving at Xi'an, the train went through customs clearance procedures and departed again as the "Xi'an-Hanoi" China-Vietnam international freight train. This marked the first seamless connection between a returning China-Europe freight train and a departing China-Vietnam international freight train.

Li Jinhua, a staff member of a Guangxi-based international logistics enterprise, said that this connected operation allows the train to load not only imported cargo needed in the domestic market but also cargo designated for export to Southeast Asian countries, cutting down both expenses and delivery time.

Pingxiang Customs has inspected 1,536 China-Vietnam freight trains entering the border in the first seven months of 2022, a 49.7 percent year-on-year increase, while the imported and exported cargo handled by the customs in the same time period went up by 79.5 percent year-on-year to 492,000 metric tons. 

The "Xi'an-Hanoi" China-Vietnam international freight train is expected to open one more safe and convenient route connecting Eurasian and Southeast Asian trade via the Pingxiang Railway Checkpoint.