Kashgar boosts foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce as new growth engine

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

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf warned on Sunday that Tehran would view the United States and Israel's military bases and facilities in the Middle East as "legitimate targets" should Washington take military action against Iran.

At a parliamentary session convened to review an emergency proposal on assembly regulations, Qalibaf emphasized that, at this highly sensitive juncture, Iran must accurately and thoroughly identify the schemes of its adversaries.

Qalibaf said that Iran is currently confronting Israel and the United States simultaneously on four fronts: economic, cognitive, military, and counterterrorism. Of them, the economic warfare and the cognitive and psychological warfare began many years ago and have persisted to this day, growing increasingly complex and intense in recent years.

The remarks came as U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly "seriously considering authorizing a strike" against Iran, taking advantage of its nationwide unrest.

Protests have erupted in several Iranian cities since late December over the sharp fall of the rial and long-standing economic hardship. Iranian authorities have acknowledged the demonstrations and voiced willingness to address economic grievances, while warning against violence and vandalism.

Amid the ongoing protests, deadly clashes have been reported lately between police and what the government described as "rioters." However, no official death toll has been released.

Also on Sunday, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian will address the country's economic situation and political environment in a televised interview later that day.

Iran swears to counterattack if attacked