The Kazakhstan Xi'an Terminal in Xi'an City, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, has transshipped over 150,000 tons of goods by the end of February 2025 since it was put into operation on Feb 28, 2024.
The terminal, acting as a logistics hub for China-Kazakhstan trade, spans an area of about 6.67 hectares and has an annual handling capacity of 655,000 twenty-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers.
A joint China-Kazakhstan venture company has been established to operate the terminal and coordinate cargo flows between the two countries while providing import-export and transit services.
"Our company will continue to strengthen cooperation with relevant departments to jointly support the regular operation and optimization of the China-Europe freight routes, so as to provide more convenient and efficient logistics services for trade between the two countries," said Zhang Jie, general manager of China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade and Logistics Company Limited.
The operation of the Kazakhstan Xi'an Terminal has also led to a deeper integration between Xi'an Port and Kazakhstan national railway company, which has lowered communication costs and expedited customs clearance, port transshipment and approval procedures.
This year, Xi'an Port has collaborated with the Kazakhstan side to launch the first fast train from Xi'an to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, reducing the travel time between the two cities from up to 10 days to just within six days.
"We will make every effort to advance the construction of the China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade Logistics Terminal in Almaty, with the goal of finishing the main structure by the end of April and showing its shape by the end of May. Upon completion, the terminal will provide a 'hub-to-hub' channel upgrade linking with the Kazakhstan Xi'an Terminal," said Zhang Qitao, deputy general manager of Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction and Operation Company Limited.
Xi'an saw its total import and export value reach 411.8 billion yuan (about 56.54 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024, up 14.5 percent year on year. During the same period, the city shipped 76,404 TEU containers to destinations in Central Asia, an increase of 47.6 percent over 2023.
Xi'an is also the first city in China to handle over 25,000 China-Europe freight trains.
China is Kazakhstan's largest trading partner. In 2024, the trade volume between China and Kazakhstan exceeded 43.8 billion U.S. dollars, a 6.8 percent year-on-year increase, and rail freight transported between the two countries surpassed 32 million tons to set a new record. China's investment in Kazakhstan has totaled 24 billion U.S. dollars.
Kazakhstan Xi'an Terminal transships over 15,000 tons of goods in 1st year of operation
