Yunnan to Leverage China-Laos Railway for Greater South and Southeast Asian Connectivity During 15th Five-Year Plan

A special press conference on Yunnan’s development blueprint for the 15th Five-Year Plan period has outlined comprehensive opening-up upgrades centred on the China-Laos Railway. Yunnan will further amplify the strategic value of the key transport corridor to accelerate the construction of a regional radiation hub covering South and Southeast Asia and advance high-standard external opening-up.

As a core strategic pillar for Yunnan’s cross-border opening-up, the China-Laos Railway has delivered stable and robust operational performance. By December 31, 2025, the railway had handled 74.614 million tonnes of total cargo, including 17.041 million tonnes of cross-border goods, with traded commodities expanding to over 3,800 categories. It has transported 64.11 million passenger trips, among which 677,900 were cross-border journeys.

The transport network covers 31 provincial-level regions across China and 19 countries and regions overseas. The Lancang-Mekong Express freight service maintains stable operation, while expanded routes linking Kunming with Shanghai, Hunan, Guizhou, Guangdong and Beijing have extended the railway’s international reach, continuously expanding the radiation scope of cross-border logistics.

Yunnan will convert the railway’s traffic volume into tangible economic growth through three major development approaches during the 15th Five-Year Plan period. The province will build a comprehensive three-dimensional transport network centred on the China-Laos Railway. It will accelerate the development of the Kunming assembly centre for