Xinjiang’s Horgos sees rising foreign trade in 2018

Import and export cargo at the Horgos Port in Northwest China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, a city that borders Kazakhstan, jumped 23.2 percent year-on-year to 35.74 million tons in 2018 boosted by the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), figures from the Horgos customs showed on Sunday.

Total trade volume hit 135.2 billion yuan ($20 billion), up 22.2 percent year-on-year, according to the statistics.

The amount and value accounted for 60.2 percent and 45.6 percent of the total for the entire Xinjiang customs zone, respectively, ranking it the first among all ports in Xinjiang.

In terms of exports, high-technology products, textiles and clothes, electronic equipment and agricultural products recorded significant growth, with main export destinations including Russia and five Central Asian nations – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Imports were mainly traditional bulk commodities such as natural gas, licorice, sunflower seeds and animal fur.

The spike in trade volume and value shed light on how Xinjiang has further opened up and vitalized its economy by improving infrastructure and connectivity under the BRI, analysts said.