Huaihua International Land Port Train Services Exceed 1,000 with Foreign Trade Growth Ranking First in Hunan for 3 Consecutive Years

In 2024, Huaihua International Land Port in Hunan, China will operate as many as 1,009 train services, boosting the growth rate of foreign trade imports and exports, and ranking first in Hunan Province for three consecutive years.

As a hub, Huaihua weaves a "logistics network" that spans mountains and seas. It opens seven major international logistics channels, including routes to Laos and Vietnam, covering 158 ports and stations in more than 50 countries (regions) worldwide. It attracts 70% of the cargo from the Western Land-Sea New Corridor in China to go south through Huaihua.

The second Hunan (Huaihua) RCEP Economic and Trade Expo will host a symposium on "Dual Channel" and RCEP port collaborative development on Friday (9th) afternoon. Experts and enterprise leaders from fields such as port, logistics and procurement, international trade, and ports will gather to discuss how to expand and open cooperative "friend circles" to assist in the construction and development of Huaihua International Land Port.

Wang Jie, vice president of the China Port Association, stated that currently, port development still faces many challenges, such as infrastructure "hard connectivity" shortcomings, the urgent need to deepen cross-border policy "soft linkage," and the improvement of data sharing and digital service capabilities.

Wang Kaile, general manager of the New Land-Sea Corridor Operation Chongqing Co., Ltd., said that since the RCEP took effect, the New Land-Sea Corridor has made remarkable achievements in trade and transportation with RCEP countries, with both container volume and cargo value showing strong growth. Currently, the scale of Huaihua's ASEAN train services ranks among the top in the country, with the China-Laos train service ranking first in the central region.

He hopes to deepen cooperation with Huaihua to improve the level of information interconnection, accelerate the construction of a more convenient and efficient transportation network, and promote the expansion of channels, reduce costs, and increase efficiency.

Long Lingxiao, head of the Port Logistics Department of the Hunan Provincial Department of Commerce, stated that in just three years, Huaihua International Land Port's international train services have expanded from non-existent to a scale of over a thousand, becoming a benchmark for Hunan and the surrounding regions to integrate into RCEP and "dual channel" construction.

He said further support will be provided for Huaihua to strengthen its hub functions, promote quality improvement and expansion of the China-Laos and China-Vietnam trains; deepen industrial clustering, accurately connect industries such as processing manufacturing, biopharmaceuticals, and green food with the ASEAN market; expand the level of openness, and utilize the RCEP platform to develop the land port into "international guestroom" for Hunan to reach the world.

Yang Guodong, vice president of the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, pointed out that Huaihua International Land Port is a golden springboard for China's inland areas to integrate into the global industrial chain. Huaihua should further leverage its role as a key node of "dual channels," suggesting optimizing functional layout, establishing a multi-modal transport hub benchmark; improving logistics efficiency, strengthening digital empowerment and green transformation; perfecting supporting facilities, focusing on building a modern industrial system; and deepening regional cooperation to weave a global supply chain network.