First freight train on Shijiazhuang-Yen Vien route launched

The first international multimodal freight train from Shijiazhuang, Hebei province, to Yen Vien in the capital city of Ha Noi ran on a distance of about 2,700 kilometers with a time of 4-5 days. 

It consists of 23 carriages and carries nearly 800 tons of goods, including metal equipment, chemicals, and fertilizers.

Viet Nam is among key trade partners of Hebei province in ASEAN. Previously, it took 15 days to ship goods by sea to ASEAN Member States, including Viet Nam. 

The launching of the freight train has helped halve the transporting time. 

Addressing the event, Chinese Ambassador to Viet Nam Xiong Bo reiterated the significant role of transport connections between the two nations in the bilateral relationship. 

The official launch of the route is an important step in the Belt and Road Initiative between China and Viet Nam, thus helping their quality products enter each other's market more conveniently, he noted. 

According to the data announced by the General Department of Customs, in 2022, the total import-export turnover between Viet Nam and China reached US$175.57 billion, of which Viet Nam's exports to China reached US$57.7 billion and imports from China reached US$117.87 billion.

Mainland China was the fourth-biggest foreign investor in Viet Nam in 2022 with US$2.52 billion, according to Viet Nam's Ministry of Planning and Investment./.