Bonded zone in China's Xinjiang expedites burgeoning cross-border trade

URUMQI -- Just two months into production, more than 3,000 refrigerators and freezers manufactured by a technology company at the comprehensive bonded area in Kashgar Prefecture, southern Xinjiang, were sold out in the Central Asian market.

"The reason we chose to invest and build a factory here is to expand our business in countries along the Belt and Road. Our costs are also lowered," said Xue Yanming, the company's general manager.

Starting operation in early 2015, the Kashgar comprehensive bonded area is the first of its kind in the southern part of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Boasting an integrated logistic network of rail, road and air freight, it enjoys unique advantages in conducting cross-border trade with countries along the Belt and Road.

The trade volume in the bonded area soared over 5.8-fold year on year to 3.8 billion yuan (about $562.3 million) from January to April, said Urumqi Customs.

Such zones have significantly contributed to the prosperous cross-border trade in the vast region.

From January to April, the import and export volume of the four integrated bonded areas, namely, Kashgar, Alataw, Horgos and Urumqi, surged by 126.7 percent year on year to 9.5 billion yuan, accounting for 18.3 percent of Xinjiang's total foreign trade in the period.

Belt and Road economies have robust market demand, and the preferential policies offered at the Kashgar comprehensive bonded area have lured many enterprises to settle there, noted Zhao Chunlin, director of the zone's service center.

"Our trade volume reached $230 million last year and we will vigorously expand in overseas markets to build our company into a world-class enterprise," said the chairman of another foreign trade company.

Ma Haitao, director of the zone's management committee, said amid the COVID-19 pandemic, more and more foreign trade enterprises are betting on cross-border e-commerce business to achieve sustained development.

According to Kashgar Customs, with the successive landing of e-commerce and cross-border B2B business, the total import and export trade value at the Kashgar comprehensive bonded area last year was 3.7 billion yuan, an increase of 436.8 percent from the previous year.

The area has also implemented an all-weather reservation service to cut declaration and clearance procedures to better serve cross-border e-commerce trade companies.