Kashgar represents a new strategic point of access from China to the West

Kashgar, historically a significant location along the Silk Road, is currently undergoing rapid growth. It is anticipated that it will become the westernmost gateway from China to the West. Kashgar is the westernmost city in the People's Republic of China (PRC), and the straight line distance from Kashgar to Tbilisi is approximately twice as short as the distance from Beijing to Kashgar.

Kashgar is poised to assume a more prominent role in China's foreign trade along the Middle Corridor with the imminent construction of a new railway line traversing China, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. The project is scheduled to commence in October 2024 and is projected to reach completion in 2030. The railway is to follow the route from Kashgar to Torugart, Makmal, Jalal-Abad and Andijan.

Even in the absence of the railway, the volume of cargo transit from Kashgar through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan is demonstrating exponential growth. From January to July 2024, there was a 2.1-fold increase compared to the same period in the previous year. In Kashgar, where the railway track currently terminates, cargo is transferred from the railcars to motor vehicles for onward transportation to the west.

China Railways has reported that from January to July 2024, 100 container trains were dispatched to Kashgar for onward transshipment of containers to road transport and for onward transportation to neighbouring countries. This figure represents a 51-train increase (or approximately 104 percent) compared to the same period in 2023. The total volume of Chinese goods transported by rail to Kashgar for subsequent transit through Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan exceeded 100 thousand tonnes. This represents an increase of 53,300 tonnes (or 114.1 percent) compared to the previous year.

In order to attract business to Kashgar, international fairs are held on a regular basis. The XIV Central and South Asia Commodity Fair was held in the city from the 16th to the 20th of August, 2024. The opening ceremony was attended by high-level representatives from China and delegations from Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as officials from the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

Furthermore, the development of transit through Kashgar is facilitated by the publication of a plan by the State Council of the People's Republic of China on 31 October 2023 to establish a free trade zone in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR). The newly established free trade zone is designed to foster collaboration not only with neighbouring Central Asian countries, but also with South Asian nations, including Pakistan, which has a direct highway connecting Kashgar to its territory, and India.

The Free Trade Zone of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region is comprised of three distinct sites. The three sites are located in Urumqi, Kashgar, and Khorgos.

The Kashgar site is designed to facilitate the development of an international logistics corridor between northwest China and neighbouring countries, with the objective of fostering an export-oriented economy, light industry, assembly production and other labour-intensive industries. Kashgar has earmarked the development of cross-border e-commerce and the establishment of a distribution hub for Chinese goods in Central and South Asian markets as key strategic objectives. Consequently, the designation of Kashgar as a free trade zone will prove an attractive proposition for China's partners, including the countries of Central Asia and the South Caucasus, who will be encouraged to establish their own logistics centres in the region. This will facilitate the perception of Kashgar as the geographically 'nearest window of entry to the Chinese market'.



Gulnara Safarli
Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Strategic Partnership Information Support Centre

SR-CENTER.INFO