China launches first trial of electronic waybills for cross-border rail freight

China launched its first trial of electronic waybills for cross-border rail freight on Thursday, aiming to simplify cargo handovers and reduce paperwork costs on services to Russia, according to China State Railway Group, the national railway operator.

The first electronic waybill, issued by the operator's Harbin subsidiary, covers 276 metric tons of industrial raw materials bound for Russia's Chelyabinsk region via China's Suifenhe border station and Russia's Grodekovo station.

The trial follows an agreement with Russian Railways on data sharing, operating procedures, and mutual recognition of electronic signatures, allowing digital waybills to replace paper versions across the border, the operator said.

A waybill records the freight transport contract and provides information needed for cargo delivery, including the goods, route, sender, and recipient. Previously, multiple paper copies had to accompany international rail shipments.

Under the trial, participating railways will use mutually recognized electronic data to handle shipments from acceptance at the departure station through border handover to final delivery. The operator said this would simplify cross-border procedures and lower the cost of managing and transmitting documents.

The trial will be introduced in stages for wagonload and container shipments through the Suifenhe-Grodekovo crossing.

China has exchanged waybill data with railways in countries including Russia, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia since 2019, laying the groundwork for the move.

The operator plans to assess the trial and gather customer feedback before extending electronic waybills to routes through other border stations — including Manzhouli and Tongjiang — with broader use envisaged for services such as China-Europe freight trains.