A senior official in Huaihua, Hunan province, said the city will leverage the development of its international land port to drive progress and establish itself as a beacon of reform and opening-up in China's inland regions.

Wei Zhaohui, the mayor of Huaihua and a member of the Standing Committee of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said the city — the sole Association of Southeast Asian Nations freight consolidation center in the province — has evolved from a peripheral area to occupying the forefront of China's opening-up efforts and positioning itself in the vanguard of national development.

Huaihua is a crucial transportation hub connecting Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces, Chongqing and the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. It serves as a vital link between central and western China and members of ASEAN. It is also a key intersection within the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor and the Shanghai-Kunming international trade corridor.

The city's transportation network has undergone a remarkable transformation. "Previously, it took nearly half a day for goods to travel to Changsha. Nowadays, Huaihua operates 200 international and domestic logistics routes, reaching 69 countries and 216 ports," Wei said.

At the heart of this transformation is the Huaihua International Land Port, a national-level logistics hub. Launched in 2021, the port connects to global supply chains via rail-sea intermodal services linking Beibu Gulf Port, Guangzhou Port and the China-Laos Railway, emerging as an ASEAN freight hub serving China's central and western regions.

Wei noted that the city handles 70 percent of the corridor's ASEAN-bound cargo. Freight train services surged from just 17 in 2021 to 1,220 last year.

Huaihua now leads central China in China-Laos Railway freight services, and its railway cold chain transport systems rank first in scale among inland ports. The city's cross-border e-commerce import and export volume has also skyrocketed. Its foreign trade network has expanded to 169 countries and regions.

"This year marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period," Wei said. "Huaihua will adopt a higher vision and more concrete actions, taking the international land port as a breakthrough to strengthen its role as a hub."

According to Wei, the city will accelerate the development of a comprehensive multimodal transport system, advance the Huaihua-Guilin high-speed railway, and improve inter-provincial expressways. It will also streamline customs clearances with Guangxi ports and promote favorable freight policies.

"We will expedite the development of a world-class international land port and develop new business forms such as cross-border e-commerce and overseas warehouses," Wei said.

Zhu Youfang contributed to this story.

Contact the writers at zhangli@chinadaily.com.cn