The Kashgar Prefecture, a gateway for China's westward opening-up in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, is driving economic growth by leveraging its advantageous location to promote foreign trade, especially in cross-border e-commerce.
The prefecture, linking China with Central and South Asia, West Asia and Europe, has been actively attracting various business entities and fostering new trade models by leveraging the combined advantages of its Free Trade Zone, Economic Development Zone, Comprehensive Bonded Zone, and Cross-border E-commerce Pilot Zone.
"If you look at a map of the Eurasian continent, Kashgar sits somewhat in the middle. It takes six and a half hours to fly from Kashgar to the city of Guangzhou or Shenzhen in southern China, and about seven hours to Germany or the UK. So, it's fair to say that Kashgar boasts a unique advantage as a hub for the transfer, assembly and distribution of goods across Eurasia," said Guo Shusong, director of the management committee of the Kashi Comprehensive Bonded Zone, the only one of its kind in southern Xinjiang.
Thanks to this prime geographical position, Kashgar has to date attracted a total of 3,052 businesses.
Among the notable developments is the Kashi Free Trade Zone Cross-border Zero Tariff Exhibition Center, located within the Kashi Comprehensive Bonded Zone. Covering over 15,000 square meters, this center officially opened in September 2023. It offers consumers over 3,000 duty-free products from regions such as Central Asia, Europe and Southeast Asia, ranging from high-end cosmetics and wine to food.
"After gaining deeper insights into the consumer needs of Central Asian countries, we found they have a significant demand for Chinese products. This represents a golden opportunity for cross-border e-commerce platforms," said Zhao Zhijiang, a staff member of a cross-border e-commerce platform.
From January to August this year, the Kashi Comprehensive Bonded Zone achieved a total import and export value of 39.26 billion yuan (about 5.60 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 56.2 percent of Kashgar's total trade value. During the same period, the cross-border e-commerce exhibition center recorded an import and export value of nearly 10.08 billion yuan (about 1.44 billion U.S. dollars).
Kashgar boosts foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce as new growth engine
European countries and international organizations have widely condemned Israeli air strikes on Lebanon which have resulted in more than 1,000 civilian casualties, including children, and have caused damage to civilian infrastructure.
Israel launched large-scale air raids across Lebanon on Wednesday, saying it had carried out 100 strikes within a matter of minutes on positions they claimed belonged to the Hezbollah group.
Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health reported more than 300 had been killed in the attacks, with roughly 1,150 wounded.
The attacks came after a two-week ceasefire agreement was reached by the United States and Iran. However, both Israel and the United States have maintained Lebanon is not included in the truce.
Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares on Thursday accused Israel of violating international law to carry out the air strikes on Lebanon, calling the attacks "a shame on the conscience of all humanity".
Earlier on Thursday, Albares announced that Spain would reopen its embassy in Tehran in the hope of achieving peace in the region.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said that Israel had "disrespected" the two-week ceasefire with Iran by carrying out the strikes.
Meloni also warned of further economic turmoil if U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran flare up again, and said the European Union should consider a temporary suspension of the Stability and Growth Pact, an agreement which ensures economic stability within the European Union, in order to handle the potential monetary consequences.
Meanwhile, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Thursday warned that Israel's military operations in Lebanon could cause the entire peace process as a whole to fail, telling a press conference in Berlin "that must not happen."
Merz announced that the German government will resume direct talks with Iran in order to support the newly agreed two-week ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
He also stated that a window of opportunity for a negotiated solution has opened for the first time since the outbreak of the conflict, though he cautioned that the situation in the Middle East remains "fragile."
The UK's Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Thursday that she is "deeply troubled" by Israel's escalating attacks on Lebanon, expressing hope that Lebanon will be included in the current ceasefire arrangement.
Cooper also reiterated the importance of reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying that the effective closure of the vital shipping chokepoint had been "deeply damaging for the world", while stressing how crucial the passageway is to the entire global economy.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the Israeli strikes on Lebanon as "intolerable."
In a radio interview, Barrot said France strongly condemns "the massive strikes" which seriously undermine the temporary ceasefire reached earlier between the United States and Iran. The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Thursday that Israel's latest strikes on Lebanon, which killed hundreds overnight, could not be considered as an act of self-defense.
"Israel's right to defend itself does not justify inflicting such massive destruction," Kallas said in a post on the social media platform X. She warned that the strikes risk further destabilizing the region and added that Israel's actions were putting the U.S.-Iran ceasefire under severe strain.
Despite this widespread criticism, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted on Thursday there would be no ceasefire in Lebanon, signaling that Israel will continue its military operations while pursuing planned negotiations with Beirut.
"There is no ceasefire in Lebanon," Netanyahu said in a video address to residents of northern Israel, adding: "We continue to strike Hezbollah with force and we will not stop until we restore your security."
Netanyahu said he had instructed his cabinet to open direct talks with Lebanon following what he described as repeated requests from the Lebanese government.
The negotiations, which are expected to begin next week in Washington, aim to disarm Hezbollah and reach a "historic and lasting" peace agreement, Netanyahu added. Delegations will be led by the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the United States.
Israel and Lebanon have no formal diplomatic relations and technically remain in a state of war.
European Leaders widely condemn Israeli attacks on Lebanon
