As a key transportation hub of the China-Europe railway freight service, the Xi'an International Port Station in the northwestern Chinese province of Shaanxi has stood witness to the growing trade relations between China and Central Asia countries.
During the harvest season every year, kiwi fruits fresh from the orchards across Yangling District in Xianyang City are being packaged at local warehouses, transported by lorries to the Xi'an Port, and shipped by cargo trains to Central Asia via the China-Europe Railway Express line.
Official data showed that in 2024, Shaanxi's agricultural product exports reached 6.59 billion yuan (about 920 million U.S. dollars), with kiwis, pears and apples ranking as the top three varieties of fruits in export value nationwide.
"The China-Europe Railway Express has cut fruit transportation time from 10 days to 7 and reduced costs by nearly a half," said Ren Jianshe, president of the Shaanxi Jinqiao Fruit Industry Co., Ltd, in a recent interview with the China Global Television Network (CGTN).
A student from Kyrgyzstan whose Chinese name is Fei Yang has been pursuing her studies at the Northwest Agriculture and Forestry University in Shaanxi. During a recent tour of a local kiwi orchard in Xianyang, she witnessed how freshly picked kiwi fruits were processed and packaged before being moving on board freight trains linking Xi'an to Central Asian countries.
"The fruit production here is on a large scale, and the logistics are very efficient. After graduation, I hope to work in trade and help transport more high-quality Chinese products to my hometown through the China-Europe Railway Express," she told CGTN.
A newly opened rail terminal for freight between Xi'an and Kazakhstan plays a central role in bringing Shaanxi's fruits to the Kazakh market. The terminal, covering nearly 50 hectares in the Xi'an Port and mainly consisting of cargo warehouses and container storage areas, has been operational since February 2024.
And through the China-Europe Railway Express, the transportation time for fresh fruits has been cut from about 40 days to just 14 days.
"I believe that enhancing logistics infrastructure and boosting the capacity and efficiency of cross-border transport corridors are key to advancing trade between our two countries," said Seitzhanov Mukhamezhan, manager of the China-Kazakhstan (Xi'an) Trade and Logistics Co., Ltd.
Xi'an Port stands witness to booming China-Central Asia trade
Xi'an Port stands witness to booming China-Central Asia trade
China plays a vital role in the wave of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of future industries, said government officials and business leaders attending the China Development Forum 2026 that opened in Beijing on Sunday.
Speaking at the Symposium on Technological Innovation and Future Industry Development, Minister of Industry and Information Technology Li Lecheng said China will accelerate the innovative development of industries of the future.
"Centering around key areas like artificial general intelligence, quantum sci-tech, and clean, low-carbon hydrogen, we have deployed over 100 innovative research projects of future industries, unveiled the list and appointed leaders for these projects. We will continue to leverage the principal role of enterprises, vigorously nurturing leading technology enterprises and high-tech enterprises that lead in core technologies and possess strong innovation capabilities to drive the industries to advance towards cutting-edge and high-end fields," Li said.
From quantum technology to 6G, China is sharing its sci-tech achievements with countries around the world, working together to promote the development of future industries.
Business leaders from across the world said China is leading the breakthrough in AI technologies and will be fertile ground for the growth of future industries.
"From new energy, electric vehicles and high-end manufacturing to breakthroughs in robotics and artificial intelligence, China is at the best moment to share the fruits of sci-tech development with the world. In 2025, downloads of open-source (AI) models from China led the world, allowing global developers to freely access, fine-tune, and deploy these powerful models, truly making smart technologies a public good for all humanity," said Joseph Tsai, Chairman of Alibaba Group.
"China's complete industrial ecosystem will be fertile ground for the growth of future industries. Take embodied AI robots for example, their development relies not only on breakthroughs in intelligent algorithms but also on supporting components like precision transmission and execution parts like reducers and servo motors. A rich diversity of innovation pathways, a complete industrial system, and robust industrial supporting capabilities will be the fertile ground for the development of future industries," said Lei Jun, founder and chairman of Xiaomi Group.
"Not only manufacturing. So it's AI plus in every space, in every sector, in every industry. For us, we are the company in the world that powers AI in supplying energy systems to AI factories across the world. And therefore for us, the challenge is to make sure that we go fast enough, strong enough to support all the computing that is used by Chinese companies or by Chinese stakeholders," said Jean-Pascal Tricoire, chairman of Schneider Electric.
"Brain-computer interfaces have been listed as one of the six major future industries in China's 15th Five-Year Plan period this year. We are now fully leveraging AI technologies to decode information within the brain, using this capability to better address many issues related to brain diseases. This enables people with disabilities who have lost hands or feet to control prosthetic limbs with their thoughts, allowing them to regain their normal daily life," said Han Bicheng, founder of BrainCo, a Chinese neurotech company.
The two-day China Development Forum 2026 is themed on "China in Its 15th Five-Year Plan Period: Advancing High-Quality Development and Creating New Opportunities Together."
China to accelerate innovative development of future industries: official
