Cross-border freight traffic on China-Laos railway sees strong growth in Q1

Cross-border freight traffic on the China-Laos Railway saw continued growth in the first quarter of 2025, reflecting stronger trade ties between China and Laos, with significant year-on-year increases in both volume and value, according to Kunming Customs.

In the first three months of this year, import and export volume grew 9.2 percent to 1.508 million tons, with the value of goods transported rising 17.5 percent to 4.19 billion yuan (over 570 million U.S. dollars), the customs data shows.

The China-Laos Railway connects Kunming in southwest China's Yunnan Province with Vientiane, the capital of Laos. The 1,035-km railway, a landmark project of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, started operation on Dec 3, 2021.

Since its opening, the China-Laos Railway has become a key trade conduit, with import and export volumes surpassing 12 million tons to date.

Cross-border freight traffic on China-Laos railway sees strong growth in Q1

The U.S. dollar increased in late trading on Wednesday.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against six major peers, gained 0.55 percent to 100.091 at 3 p.m. (1900 GMT).

In late New York trading, the euro lost to 1.1539 dollars from 1.1610 dollars in the previous session, and the British pound decreased to 1.3338 dollars from 1.3429 dollars in the previous session.

The U.S. dollar bought 160.50 Japanese yen, higher than 160.44 Japanese yen in the previous session. The U.S. dollar rose to 0.7971 Swiss francs from 0.7931 Swiss francs, and it increased to 1.4071 Canadian dollars from 1.3993 Canadian dollars. The U.S. dollar climbed to 9.4610 Swedish kronor from 9.3618 Swedish kronor.

U.S. dollar ticks up