According to statistics from Kunming Customs in Yunnan, the import and export value of goods transported via the China-Laos Railway reached 6.81 billion yuan in the first quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 62.7%, setting a new record for the same period in previous years. Dried and fresh fruits, grains, and other commodities from Southeast Asia continued to be sold in northern Chinese markets, with the import value of dried and fresh fruits doubling year-on-year to 500 million yuan in the first quarter. Leveraging the railway's efficient transport and precise temperature control throughout the cold chain, durians shipped from Thailand can reach the domestic market in as little as 30 hours while still fresh. At the same time, Chinese products such as apples, pears, and other temperate fruits, edible fungi, vegetables, and flowers are being transported more efficiently to Laos and onward to markets in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. As a landmark project under the high-quality Belt and Road Initiative, how is the China-Laos Railway transforming its network advantages into trade advantages, accelerating agricultural trade between China and ASEAN, and supporting high-quality development in bilateral agricultural commerce? The China-Laos Railway connects Kunming, China, and Vientiane, Laos, and began full operations in December 2021. Since its opening, it has operated 71,000 freight trains, with the number of daily cross-border freight trains increasing from an initial two to a peak of 23. The range of import and export goods has expanded to over 3,800 categories, including chemicals, textiles, minerals, and agricultural products, with cumulative cross-border freight volume exceeding 18 million tons. The railway serves over 6,000 enterprises across China and reaches 19 countries and regions, including Laos and Thailand. Kunming Customs has introduced 16 specific measures to optimize the port business environment and facilitate cross-border trade. These efforts include implementing initiatives such as the "Smooth Silk Road" service to promote high-level opening-up and support high-quality foreign trade development in Yunnan. Reforms in supervision models, such as "Railway Express Clearance" and "Release Before Inspection," have been deepened to ensure the efficient operation of international freight services like the "Lancang-Mekong Express" and the "China-Laos Railway + China-Europe Railway Express," making cross-border trade as convenient as sending a parcel. Relying on international freight trains like the "Lancang-Mekong Express," the speed of Southeast Asian fruit entering China has significantly increased, with transportation efficiency greatly improved. This has largely resolved previous issues such as long transit times, high spoilage rates, and elevated logistics costs for perishable agricultural products from Southeast Asia destined for China. Currently, freight costs from Kunming to Thailand via the China-Laos Railway have decreased by approximately 30% to 50%, while costs within Laos have fallen by 20% to 40%. Through the use of specialized refrigerated containers and remote temperature control technology, the spoilage rate for Southeast Asian fruit during transit has been reduced from about 30% to less than 5%. As a result, tropical fruits can enter the Chinese market on a larger scale and with greater frequency. Durians from Thai orchards can reach the Chinese market in as little as 30 hours. The driving effect of the China-Laos Railway is evident not only in the smoother entry of high-quality Southeast Asian agricultural products into China but also in the accelerated export of Chinese agricultural products and services to ASEAN, fostering a more closely integrated two-way trade pattern. In June 2025, over 50 tons of fresh mangoes from Laos arrived in Kunming via the "Lancang-Mekong Express" on the China-Laos Railway. In September of the same year, the first batch of Lao tea imported via the railway successfully entered China, marking a continued expansion in the variety of cross-border agricultural products. Meanwhile, Southeast Asia's strong demand for agricultural inputs such as fertilizers is being met by high-quality Chinese products efficiently transported via the China-Laos Railway to Laos and neighboring markets, better supporting local agricultural production. Currently, the China-Laos Railway is rapidly evolving from a single transport corridor into an open platform driving regional industrial synergy. As the scale of cross-border agricultural product transport continues to grow, logistics parks around Vientiane South Station, agricultural product distribution centers in northeastern Thailand, and supporting sectors such as cold chain storage, cross-border e-commerce, and logistics distribution are accelerating their development. The "corridor economy" along the railway is swiftly extending into an "industrial economy." It is foreseeable that with the continuous diversification of transported goods and sustained growth in market demand, the China-Laos Railway will further unleash the potential for mutual benefit in China-ASEAN agricultural trade, opening up broader prospects for regional agricultural cooperation.