Chongqing- A bridge between Southeast Asia and the European market has been built inland in western China. Data shows in January, 488 cross-border highway shuttle bus trips were made on the New International Land-sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC), up 838% year-on-year. 

Since the development of cross-border highway shuttle buses into the fast lane, goods are shipped from Southeast Asia to Chongqing and exchanged for China Railway Express (Yuxinou) to Europe. 

Cross-border road shuttles pass through border crossings. (Photo/ILSTC)

The whole journey takes about 20 days, saving more than one month compared with traditional sea transportation. 

Over 30 distribution warehouses in Southeast Asia 

Nowadays, cross-border highway shuttle buses not only open up convenient and affordable freight channels for enterprises but also play a practical role in business expansion and resource element matching. 

"Since the beginning of the year, we kept receiving calls from companies looking for help in finding goods sources in Southeast Asia through the ASEAN Commodity Centralized Purchasing City," said Liu Qing, commercial operation director of Chongqing Public Transport of ASEAN International Logistics Co., Ltd.

The ASEAN Commodity Centralized Purchasing City serves traders in the China-ASEAN economic region, providing high-quality, comprehensive services integrating trade, logistics, warehousing, and supply chain finance for goods abroad to enter the Chinese market, as well as for Chinese goods to reach the world.

Liu added they now look for goods sources and markets to reach a deal and collect goods for the shuttle bus, which has become an increasingly crucial part of their work. 

Statistics of the ILSTC cross-border highway shuttle bus in January 2023. (Graphic/Chen Zhan)

Currently, the ILSTC cross-border highway shuttle bus has established cooperation with more than 20 overseas logistics enterprises, with over 30 distribution warehouses in Southeast Asia and 19 entry-exit ports. 

Its operating lines have achieved full coverage of the Indochina Peninsula, such as Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, and Singapore, realizing the interconnection of Chongqing with Central Asia, South Asia, and European land transportation channels. 

Chengdu-Chongqing cross-border road transportation platform

On July 4, 2022, five cross-border road shuttles loaded with auto parts, electromechanical equipment, and motorcycle parts departed from Chongqing and Chengdu simultaneously, marking the debut of the Chengdu-Chongqing cross-border road transportation platform.

Overseas cooperation and operating lines of the ILSTC cross-border highway shuttle bus. (Graphic/Chen Zhan)

Liang Jianbo, an official of the Chongqing Port and Logistics Office, thinks that the strategic alliance of Chengdu and Chongqing is conducive to the integration of upstream and downstream sources of cargo, routes, and service networks in two places and overseas cross-border transportation, helping the construction of the port logistics system in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle. 

Statistics show the Chengdu-Chongqing cross-border highway shuttle bus sent 4,422 trips in 2022, shipping 9,950 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), with a value of 6.406 billion yuan (about 930 million U.S. dollars).

In recent years, Chengdu and Chongqing have implemented innovations in open systems and mechanisms with the ILSTC. Experts said it should continue introducing several innovative measures, aiming for international high-standard economic and trade rules.