By Ouyang Jie, People’s Daily
At 10 a.m. in the inspection yard of the Horgos highway port in northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, a steady stream of vehicles rolled through the border. Among them were trucks transporting 80-meter-long wind turbine blades and refrigerated vans carrying fresh fruits and vegetables. New energy vehicles (NEVs) were also being exported to Central Asian countries, while honey, fruits, and wheat arrived from across the border.
At the Urumqi International Land Port Area, China-Europe freight trains were being loaded with garments, household goods, machinery, and auto parts from manufacturing centers such as Guangzhou and Yiwu. These goods, following customs inspection and sealing, would be shipped aboard the Tianshan train toward destinations across Central Asia.
Leveraging its position as the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang has become a driving force for China’s high-level opening up. According to Urumqi Customs, Xinjiang’s total imports and exports grew by an average of 40 percent annually between 2021 and 2024. In the first eight months of 2025, Xinjiang’s foreign trade reached 356.31 billion yuan (about $50 billion), up 25.4 percent year on year, 21.9 percentage points above the national average.
As a key gateway for China’s westward opening up, the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, established in 2023, further accelerated growth. In 2024 alone, it attracted over 9,000 new enterprises, which accounted for more than 30 percent of the region’s total import and export volume.
In Horgos, the growing demand for Chinese NEVs in Central Asia has created new cross-border job opportunities. Wang Xianguo, one of nearly 4,000 so-called “ferryman,” transports Chinese NEVs to Kazakhstan, returning to China via cross-border bus service. “The job is flexible, and the income is stable,” he said. “I can take these trips during the off-season for farming.”
The cars he drives are exported by Horgos Haocheng International Freight Forwarding Co., Ltd. “Chinese electric vehicles are highly popular in Central Asia and the Middle East, especially among younger consumers, due to their advanced features and reliable performance,” said Liang Hao, general manager of the company.
As China’s largest land port for automobile exports, Horgos handled 258,000 vehicle exports between January and August this year, up 8.5 percent year on year and reaching a record high. Exports of electric vehicles surged by 45.2 percent during the same period.
“The ‘ferryman’ model offers greater flexibility and cost-efficiency compared to traditional carrier-truck transport, making it increasingly attractive to foreign importers,” Liang said.
The evolving needs of enterprises have driven customs to innovate clearance models. To enhance efficiency, Horgos Customs introduced China’s first dedicated clearance model for ferrymen. Each vehicle is assigned a QR code for automatic recognition by smart cameras, reducing customs processing time from over 30 hours to under five, a more than 80 percent improvement in efficiency.
Meanwhile, transport connectivity in Xinjiang continues to advance. Urumqi Tianshan International Airport now operates 285 passenger and cargo routes connecting 27 countries and 40 cities, with international air cargo volume rising 446 percent this year.
Rail networks are increasingly busy. As a key hub linking European and Asian economies, the Urumqi International Land Port Area operates 21 Tianshan China-Europe freight train routes to 19 countries and 26 cities across Central Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, carrying over 200 categories of goods.
Road connectivity in Xinjiang continues to strengthen. Of the region’s 21 officially approved ports of entry, 19 are operational, including 14 highway ports, positioning Xinjiang as a critical bridge linking China with its western neighbors. The region currently operates 119 bilateral international road transport routes to Europe, accounting for more than a third of China’s total.
As trade volumes surge, local governments and customs authorities across Xinjiang are streamlining business processes and enhancing service efficiency. At the Alashankou railway port in Xinjiang, large container scanners now complete inspections in under five minutes, over 90 percent faster than manual checks. At Urumqi International Land Port Area, enhanced customs facilitation measures have improved train efficiency by more than 30 percent and reduced container handling costs by 200 yuan.
At the Torugart port, the development of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway has significantly increased cross-border passenger flows. In response, customs have introduced appointment-based clearance and intelligent inspection systems, enabling smoother and faster border crossings.
With continuous improvements in cross-border trade infrastructure and logistic efficiency, Xinjiang is rapidly transforming from a remote inland region into a dynamic frontier of China’s opening up.
Xinjiang turns from inland heartland to frontier in China’s opening up
