The 16th Kashgar (Kashi)-Central and South Asia Commodity Fair got underway in northwest China's Xinjiang Autonomous Region on Friday, setting new benchmarks in exhibition scale and international participation.
Over 330 overseas enterprises from 44 other countries and regions are present at the fair along with more than 1,000 domestic companies.
A new feature this year is the dual honored-guest system. Uzbekistan is the fair's Guest Country and south China's Guangdong is the Guest Province.
"We have eight companies exhibiting at the fair, bringing nearly 20 types of products, including carpets, scarves, and leather goods. We are very interested in agricultural technology, especially cotton cultivation, and hope to reach cooperation agreements," said Xidirov Abror Abduazimovich, deputy governor of Uzbekistan's Sirdaryo Region.
The fair, which runs through next Tuesday, further cements Xinjiang as a key gateway for trade and investment between China and Central and South Asia under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Dozens of nations, regions join commodity fair in northwest China's Xinjiang
Dozens of nations, regions join commodity fair in northwest China's Xinjiang
Ukraine's civilian casualties rose to their highest monthly level since March 2022 in July, marking a new peak in this year's escalation of civilian harm, according to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
UN Associate Spokesperson Daniela Gross De Almeida said at a press briefing on Thursday that the mission's verified toll was likely to rise further as it continued to assess reported deaths and injuries.
"The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission today said that more civilians were killed or injured in the country in July 2026 than in any month since March 2022, marking a new high in this year's escalation of civilian harm. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission verified that at least 437 civilians were killed and 2,610 injured in Ukraine in July, which is a 30 percent increase compared with the previous month and a 70 percent increase compared with July 2025. The actual figure is likely higher, as the Monitoring Mission continues to verify information," De Almeida said.
Long-range missiles and drones remained the leading cause of civilian casualties in July, accounting for 38 percent of the total, the mission said. Casualties from aerial bombardments rose 143 percent from June, while 17 children were killed and 166 injured, the highest monthly child-casualty toll since April 2022.
In the first seven months of 2026, the mission verified 12,477 civilian casualties in Ukraine, up 44 percent from the same period last year.
Ukraine civilian casualties climb to new high: UN
