Economy

Kashgar commodities fair draws a crowd

By Shao Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-06-30 13:11

KASHGAR, Xinjiang - Cross-border trade between Kashgar in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Central and South Asian countries is expected to rise by 20 percent in the second quarter of this year.

That's according to officials at the ongoing international trade fair in Kashgar, an important ancient town on the historic Silk Road and China's newest special economic zone (SEZ).

Zhou Yuhui, the director of the Foreign Trade and Economy Bureau of Kashgar prefecture, told China Daily that the seventh international trade fair held in the city attracted more than 20,000 businesspeople, including around 1,600 from seven Central and South Asian countries such as Tajikstan, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

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The five-day Kashgar, Central and South Asia Commodity Fair, which opened on Tuesday, "should provide a great boost to the existing economic relationship between Kashgar and Central Asian countries", said Zhou.

Pakistani businessmen accounted for more than 60 percent of the foreign attendees.

"Because Pakistan has a very close affinity with, and geographical links with, Kashgar and West China, the potential for a massive increase in cross-border trade is definitely there," said Tariq Puri, chief executive of the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), who led a 75-member delegation to the fair.

"As we are partners with China, we look forward to working closely," he said, adding that this year the TDAP will organize for Pakistani businessmen to participate in more than 20 similar fairs and exhibitions across China to promote trade between the two countries.

Garments, perfumes, and regional jade ornaments were the main commodities in the fair's foreign commodities exhibition zone.

"It's the second time I've taken part in the fair. This year's fair has changed a lot, with bigger exhibition halls, more display booths and more visitors," said Razi Khan, who brought around 2,000 jade ornaments from Pakistan to "earn big bucks".

Khan said his elderly brother, who runs a foreign trade company based in Kashgar, also took part in the fair and looked for new business opportunities, as they found "business in the East is shifting to Kashgar and also in the less-developed region of western China."

"With the great support from the central government, Kashgar has been developed into a major trading and logistics bridge linking China and Central Asia," said Ye Lin, the deputy commissioner of Kashgar prefecture.

In 2010, the city of Shenzhen, and the provinces of Guangdong and Shandong, were appointed by the central government to assist the development of Kashgar, and have brought large numbers of business groups and development projects to the fair.

In one example, 109 companies from Shenzhen took part in the fair, and signed 22 projects with the prefecture, with a total investment of 13.3 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), in the fields of infrastructure, park development, and farm produce.

"The establishment of the SEZ in Kashgar is just at its very beginning. We are now working on the overall development plan and infrastructure construction. Thus in this fair, we are mainly targeting projects in those sectors," said Zhu Tingfeng, the director of the management committee of the Kashgar SEZ.

With its geographical advantages and bordering five countries, Kashgar has long looked toward the West, in places such as Central and Western Asia, for foreign trade and investment opportunities.