Xinjiang: Region 'filled with changes and vitality'
BEIJING, March 6, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A report from Chinadaily.com.cn
The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has made "unprecedented" efforts in expanding multilevel practical cooperation with Central Asian countries in recent years, as part of China's efforts to boost high-level opening-up, the chairman of the region said.
Under the framework of jointly building the Belt and Road, Xinjiang, as a frontier area of China neighboring Central Asia, has adopted a more proactive opening-up strategy with the countries in that region by developing itself as the core area of the Belt and Road Initiative and the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, said Erkin Tuniyaz, chairman of Xinjiang, in an exclusive interview with China Daily.
"We have been pushing forward multilevel exchanges and practical cooperation with Central Asian countries with unprecedented efforts," he said, adding that the region will continue to strengthen in-depth cooperation in key areas including economic and trade investment, energy resources and cultural tourism.
By enhancing such cooperation, Xinjiang has committed to building itself into a golden corridor linking Asia and Europe and to serving as a gateway for opening-up efforts in western China, he said.
In particular, the Xinjiang pilot FTZ, established in November 2023, has become a hub for reform and opening-up in the region, which has strengthened top-level design and promoted the high-standard development of the pilot FTZ, Erkin Tuniyaz said.
"By continuously releasing policy dividends, it has effectively promoted the high-quality development of Xinjiang's economy and society," he added.
The Xinjiang pilot FTZ encompasses three iconic areas — Urumqi, Kashgar and Horgos — and is the first FTZ in China's northwestern border region.
From 2022 to 2024, the annual total import and export volume in Xinjiang reached 246.36 billion yuan ($34 billion), 357.33 billion yuan and 435.11 billion yuan, respectively. Furthermore, the import and export volume of the Xinjiang pilot FTZ reached about 189.98 billion yuan last year, accounting for 43.66 percent of Xinjiang's total volume.
Besides continuing to develop the Xinjiang pilot FTZ, the region will also accelerate the process of developing itself as the core area of the BRI, Erkin Tuniyaz said.
"We will step up efforts to build the regional capital of Urumqi into a regional center for international trade and logistics, an international inbound cargo distribution center, and a multifunctional international aviation hub geared toward Central and West Asia," he said.