China and Laos have agreed on direct postal service and transferring mail from a third country to each other, according to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed on Friday.

Southwest China's Yunnan Province will be the main mail route between China and Southeast and South Asia when the China-Laos direct postal service is materialized.

"Ordinary mail from Kunming to Vientiane will take only two days, which is the same as airmail," said Qiu Weidong, an official with Yunnan Postal Service Bureau.

A letter from Kunming, capital of Yunnan province, used to be sent to Beijing and then to travel via Strait of Malacca before reaching Vientiane, the Laotian capital. The mail route will be shortened by 5,500 km with direct post service, according to Qiu.

Chinese and visiting Laotian postal service officials has signed the MOU in Kunming, and will proceed to hold further discussions in Vientiane.

Both sides are aimed at improving trade and cultural exchanges with the postal cooperation, Qiu said.