China-Vietnam cross-border rail freight volumes reached a new milestone in 2025, as trains departing from the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to Vietnam transported around 37,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), marking an 86 per cent year-on-year (YoY) increase, according to the Nanning Railway Logistics Centre. The route is particularly attractive for exporters handling less-than-container-load shipments, offering stable and credible logistics support.
This route has strengthened its position in China-Vietnam trade, accounting for around 73 per cent of total rail-exported cargo to Vietnam and 86 per cent of containerised shipments by this mode. Both shares rose compared with 2024, highlighting rail’s expanding role in bilateral logistics, said Vietnamese media reports.
Rising demand has also diversified cargo flows. The centre noted that the number of commodity categories transported between the two countries increased sharply, from 262 to 455 over the year, signalling broader trade engagement.
To cope with higher volumes, China’s railway sector upgraded operations on the Pingxiang-Dong Dang route. Train towing capacity was increased from 1,000 tonnes to 1,300 tonnes, lifting customs clearance capacity at the Pingxiang railway border gate by about 30 per cent. In parallel, weekly train services were expanded from three to fourteen, improving reliability and throughput, added the reports.
Looking ahead, the Nanning Railway Logistics Centre plans to reform the customs monitoring model at Nanning International Railway Port. The proposed measures aim to simplify clearance procedures, cut logistics costs and enhance efficiency, further improving the quality and competitiveness of cross-border rail services between China and Vietnam.