Passengers arrive at the Vientiane station in Laos via the cross-border passenger service of the China-Laos Railway. File photo: Courtesy of China State Railway Group

The China-Laos Railway has made a total of 20.09 million passenger trips as of Wednesday, becoming a golden channel in facilitating travel and trade contacts between the two countries and the region, contributing to bilateral trade cooperation and the high quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, the CCTV reported on Thursday.

The section of the railway within China handled 17.09 million passenger trips and the section outside China made a total of 3 million passenger trips since it entered operation in December 2021, the report said, citing data from China Railway.

On April 13, the railway started cross-border passenger services between the Lao capital Vientiane and Kunming, the capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, which shortened the travel time between Kunming and Vientiane to within a day. As of August, a total of 53,000 passengers from 53 countries and regions have taken advantage of cross-border travel by train starting from Mohan in Yunnan, the report noted.

The China-Laos Railway has effectively promoted regional connectivity and mutual benefits, injecting a strong impetus to the high-standard economic and social development along the route. The railway is a docking project between the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative and Laos' strategy to convert itself from a landlocked country to a land-linked hub.

To date, a total of 25 Chinese provinces have started to operate cross-border freight trains on the China-Laos Railway, covering countries and regions across the Belt and Road Initiative, such as Laos, Thailand, and Myanmar, with cargo categories including fertilizers and department store goods, to electronic products and fresh fruit. The rail link has shown itself to be a stable and efficient logistics channels, according to China Railway.