Since beginning operations in January 2022, the Lancang-Mekong Express service on the China-Laos Railway has handled over 1,000 international cargo trains, carrying a total of 395,000 tonnes of import and export goods as of March 25, according to the China Railway Kunming Bureau Group.

The freight trains can reach speeds of 120 kilometers per hour. That efficiency resulted in a significantly faster channel for bilateral trade between the bordering countries, through which commodities, including fruit, flowers and daily consumer goods, are regularly exchanged.