China's Xinjiang sees foreign trade value up 48.4 pct in first half of 2024

The total import and export value of goods in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region grew by 48.4 percent year on year, reaching 200 billion yuan (about 27.56 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2024.

This robust growth is attributed to the high-level opening up of Xinjiang, which has advanced connectivity between China and other countries, the prominent role played by the grand channels to the west, and optimized foreign trade methods.

In the first half of the year, Xinjiang traded with 205 countries and regions. Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan topped the list of trade partners, with growth rates of 45.8 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively.

Data shows that the volume of imports and exports through Xinjiang's ports reached 39.338 million tons, marking an 11.9 percent increase. According to railway authorities, 4,691 China-Europe Railway Express trains and 3,055 China-Asia Railway Express trains passed through the Alashankou and Khorgos ports, reflecting year-on-year growth rates of 10.1 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively.

Additionally, the import and export volumes by road, water, rail, and air transport in Xinjiang increased by 14.8 percent, 257.2 percent, 62.4 percent, and 18 percent, respectively.

The pilot free trade zones and comprehensive bonded zones have become important engines driving Xinjiang's foreign trade.

In the first half of the year, Xinjiang's free trade zones (FTZs) had a combined import and export value of 72.82 billion yuan (about 10.03 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 33 percent of the total value of Xinjiang's foreign trade.

During the same period, the total import and export value of the four bonded zones in Kashgar, Khorgos, Alashankou, and Urumqi reached 95.39 billion yuan (about 13.14 billion U.S. dollars), up by 58.1 percent, accounting for 43.2 percent of the region's trade.

Cross-border small-volume trade, general trade, bonded logistics, and other trade modes have become more balanced, further optimizing the foreign trade structure.

China's Xinjiang sees foreign trade value up 48.4 pct in first half of 2024

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced on Thursday that it would slash key interest rates by 25 basis points in a bid to wind down the restrictive monetary policy.

Effective from March 12, the interest rates on the deposit facility, the main refinancing operations and the marginal lending facility will be decreased to 2.50 percent, 2.65 percent and 2.90 percent respectively, said the central bank in a statement.

The disinflation process is well on track, with headline inflation averaging 2.3 percent in 2025, 1.9 percent in 2026 and 2.0 percent in 2027, the ECB said.

The decision to keep on cutting rates came at a time when the economy in the eurozone is facing increasing uncertainties.

In its latest edition of the staff projections on Thursday, the ECB lowered its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone to 0.9 percent for 2025, 1.2 percent for 2026 and 1.3 percent for 2027.

This marks a downward revision from the ECB's forecast in December last year, which had projected 1.1 percent growth in 2025 and 1.4 percent in 2026, while the 2027 outlook remains unchanged.

The ECB attributed the weaker growth outlook for 2025 and 2026 to declining exports and sluggish investment, citing high trade policy uncertainty and broader economic instability as key factors.

ECB cuts interest rates by 25 basis points