China's rail freight link to Vietnam has moved 117,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) of cargo since Nanning International Railway Port began regular operations, making the southern Chinese city the country's largest railway consolidation centre for exports to Vietnam.

At the port's No. 104 loading line, two gantry cranes worked in tandem on Monday, hoisting containers onto flatcars. The shipment consisted mainly of polyferric sulphate and auto parts.

The route now carries 455 categories of export goods, including electronics, machinery, chemical products, agricultural produce and daily necessities.

"With the railway and customs 'fast clearance' model, the China-Vietnam freight train has evolved from running only when cargo was available to a regular daily service," said Yang Dakun, manager of the Nanning South Business Department at the Nanning Railway Logistics Centre. He said annual volume reached 37,000 TEUs in 2025 and has already approached 30,000 TEUs this year.

The China-Vietnam freight train is a land-based international intermodal service linking China and ASEAN. It departs from Nanning in Guangxi, exits through the Pingxiang railway port, and runs through Dong Dang and Kep in Vietnam before terminating at Yen Vien — a total journey of 387 kilometres.

The service operates on a fixed schedule with designated times, locations, train numbers and routes. Its cargo catchment covers 25 Chinese provinces, regions and municipalities, while its overseas network reaches Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and other ASEAN countries.