A view of the China-Laos Railway in Yuxi, Southwest China's Yunnan Province Photo: VCG

 
Some 500 tons of durian and other fruits arrived in China from fruit packaging factory in Thailand to Southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, logistics firm China Railway Materials said on Monday.

Stored in 28 refrigerated 40-foot containers, Thai durians, mangosteen and other tropical fruits left plantations in Thailand and arrived Chongqing's Xiaonanya railway logistics center in 88 hours, opening up a cold-chain logistics link linking fruit plantations to retail markets in the Chengdu-Chongqing area.

The link utilized the China-Laos Railway and railways in China, as the new western land-sea corridor continues to promote China-ASEAN trade.

After fruit was uploaded to trains in Vientiane, it took just 52 hours to reach Chongqing, representing a cheaper and faster form of transport compared with traditional sea and overland transport, setting up a record in transportation efficiency, the company said.   

The durian express has slashed transport time by over a half, according to Deng Haoji, a manager from Chongqing Hongjiu Fruit. "This allows Thai durians to enter Chinese market at a cheaper price."

The successful transportation of the cargo lays a foundation for regular commercial operation in the future, China Railway Materials said.

So far, 13 provincial-level localities and two cities have opened at least one logistics link tapping the increasingly popular new western land-sea corridor, a land-sea multimodal option, which combines rail, sea and road traffic. 

The 1,035-km cross-border railway China-Laos Railway has transported over 4 million tons of cargo since it was put into operation in 2021, the Bangkok Post reported, citing local Lao media outlets.

As companies from regional countries receive benefits from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership mega trade deal, ASEAN continues to be China's largest trading partner from January to May, according the General Administration of Customs (GAC) last week.

The total trade value between China and ASEAN rose 2.59 trillion yuan ($360 billion) in the first five months, an increase of 9.9 percent year-on-year, accounting for 15.4 percent of China's total foreign trade, per the GAC.