On May 13th, a press conference titled "Kicking Off the '16th Five-Year Plan' in Yunnan" was held at the Magnolia Hall of Haigeng Hall in Yunnan. It was announced that during the "16th Five-Year Plan" period, Yunnan will continue to amplify the "golden corridor" effect of the China-Laos Railway, advance high-level opening-up, and deepen the construction of the radiation center facing South Asia and Southeast Asia.

The China-Laos Railway serves as a crucial strategic pivot for Yunnan in building its radiation center towards South Asia and Southeast Asia. Data shows that as of December 31, 2025, the railway has cumulatively transported 74.614 million tons of goods, including 17.041 million tons of cross-border freight, with the variety of goods expanding to over 3,800 types. It has also carried 64.1098 million passengers, including 677,900 cross-border travelers. Its transportation services now cover 31 domestic provinces and 19 foreign countries and regions.

The "Lancang-Mekong Express" international freight train service is operating effectively. Additional "Lancang-Mekong Express+" services, such as those connecting Shanghai-Yunnan, Hunan-Yunnan, Yunnan-Guizhou, Guangdong-Yunnan, and Beijing-Yunnan, have been successively launched, continuously extending their destinations.

During the "16th Five-Year Plan," how will Yunnan transform the corridor's traffic flow into developmental momentum? The province will focus on three key areas.

First, to "densify the three-dimensional network" and transition the major corridor from being merely passable to truly efficient. With the China-Laos Railway as the central axis, Yunnan will coordinate the development of surrounding road, water, and air transport networks. It will accelerate the construction of the Kunming Hub for China-Europe (Asia) Railway Express and the node city of Yuxi, expand multimodal transport with Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, Bangladesh, and others, and continuously smoothen the international land-sea corridor. Relying on the China-Myanmar oil and gas pipeline and 15 high-voltage cross-border power transmission lines, the province aims to build a regional international energy hub. It will also strengthen the Kunming International Communications Service Access Point, expand cross-border optical cables, and create an efficient and stable digital information corridor.

Second, to "strengthen the industrial belt" and transform the corridor economy into a hub economy. Yunnan will speed up the construction of key industrial parks along the route and deepen cooperation with overseas economic and trade cooperation zones such as Boten in Laos and Saysettha in Vientiane. It will integrally advance the enhancement of port functionality, the development of the port economy, and the construction of port cities, promote "border resident trade + local processing," and create a synergistic open combination of "port + corridor + market." Efforts will concentrate on building competitive industrial clusters along the route, including advanced equipment manufacturing, precious metal processing, new energy batteries, and biomedicine.

Third, to "enhance soft power" and promote institutional connectivity and people-to-people bonds. Yunnan will leverage national platforms for southward opening-up, proactively align with high-standard international economic and trade rules, accelerate the implementation of "one-stop, two-inspections" for cross-border passenger transport, and adopt practices like "consolidated mixed cargo" and pre-clearance for general merchandise to make economic and trade exchanges more convenient. The province will continue to cultivate "small yet impactful" livelihood projects, creating more highlight projects that foster unity and enhance mutual recognition, ensuring the development achievements of the China-Laos Railway benefit more people across multiple countries.