The China-Europe freight train service has started to extend to southeast Asia, as a returned train made a brief stop on Friday in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality before continuing toward Vietnam.
The freight train of China Railway Express (Xiamen-Budapest), linking southeast China's port city of Xiamen with Budapest, capital of Hungary, is seen at Haicang Station in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, Jan. 19, 2018. The 11,595 km journey, which takes one stop at China's Xi'an, will take 18 days. (Xinhua/Lin Shanchuan)
The train stopped in Chongqing to load cargo including mechanical equipment and industrial materials before heading to Vietnam's Hanoi, crossing the border via Pingxiang Customs in southwest China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The return train is expected to carry Vietnamese produce, including tropical fruit, rice, coffee and aquatics as well as electric commodities produced by factories set up by global manufacturers in Vietnam.
The first China-Europe line was launched in 2011 between southwest Chongqing and Duisburg in Germany. Since then, more than 50 train routes have been opened for the China-Europe freight service.
The Chongqing municipal commission of economy and information said in the future, more China-Europe lines would be connected to southeast Asian countries through linking up with the Pan-Asia Railway to reach Thailand, Laos and Singapore.
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Estonia’s Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna met Vietnamese Prime Minister Le Minh Hung on Wednesday and said his country aims to deepen cooperation with Vietnam in trade, technology and digital transformation.
Relations between Vietnam and Estonia have accelerated in recent years and the two countries signed agreements on digital cooperation in 2025.
Estonia’s GDP accounts for just 0.2% of the European Union’s total, but it punches above its weight in digital expertise and e-governance innovation. It is offering that expertise to Vietnam as the Southeast Asian export powerhouse pursues reforms aimed at making it a high-income economy by 2045.
Cooperation on digitalization of services could help Vietnam reduce bureaucracy, improve transparency and lower costs, Tashkna said.
“It is much more quicker for citizens to be part of public sector services,” he told The Associated Press in Hanoi, adding that Vietnam had proposed an education cooperation agreement.
Hung, the prime minister, asked Estonia to urge the European Union to ratify an Investment Protection Agreement and support efforts to lift the European Commission’s “yellow card” that restricts imports of Vietnamese seafood exports for illegal fishing, said state media.
Tsahkna said Estonia could serve as a gateway for Vietnamese businesses to Europe, while Vietnam offers Estonia a larger market and a foothold in Southeast Asia.
“For us, Vietnam is one of the priority countries in the region,” he said.
He said the meetings in Vietnam were also an opportunity to convey Europe’s view of why it sees Russia as an “existential threat.”
Hanoi and Moscow have had diplomatic relations since 1950 and Vietnam has maintained a neutral stance regarding the war in Ukraine, advocating peace but avoiding direct criticism of Russia.
Tashkna said Estonia's outreach to Vietnam and Southeast Asia is driven by geopolitical pressures and economic opportunity, as U.S. President Donald Trump’s criticism of European defense spending and tariff tensions compel Europe to look outward.
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Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in Hanoi, Vietnam, Thursday, April 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hau Dinh)
