The Urumqi International Land Port Area is set to unleash its potential further this year, according to local officials in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The key port on the Silk Road Economic Belt experienced a significant increase in trade volume last year, with the number of freight trucks and trains passing through the port on the rise. In 2022, the number of freight trucks passing through the port doubled, with more than 1,165 China-Europe railway express trains also making their way through, an increase of 16.5% compared to the previous year.
Currently, 21 China-Europe railway express services operate via the land port, allowing for the transportation of more than 200 types of goods to 19 countries and 26 cities. This year, the land port area plans to launch even more China-Europe railway express trains and expand trade routes, particularly to Central Asian and European countries.
“We will bolster cooperation with customs and railway operators so that we can provide more convenient services to importers and exporters and better facilitate foreign trade. Additionally, the land port area will become a hub for gathering strategic resources and consolidating global supply chains,” said Zhong Hehua, deputy director of development service center of the area.
Zhao Xiaohai, vice-president of Xinjiang International Land Port Group, noted that Urumqi has evolved from a logistics channel into a key logistics hub in Eurasia, and that the land port area will further enrich the Belt and Road Initiative and fuel the region’s opening-up. President Xi Jinping visited the area during his inspection tour in Xinjiang in July, and remarked that Xinjiang has transformed into the forefront of opening-up, as the country promotes the expansion of opening-up, the development of the western regions, and the joint building of the BRI.
This year, an international grain and oil trading center will be put to use at the land port area, and it plans to start providing cold chain logistics services from 2024. According to the region’s government work report published in January, the high-quality development of the land port area will be accelerated to spearhead Xinjiang’s opening-up efforts.