Trucks are parked at the Alashankou Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Haobo)
To his surprise, Nursultan found that many renowned sports brand flagship stores operating on Chinese e-commerce platforms offer free cross-border shipping to Kazakhstan for orders costing just about 14 U.S. dollars.
ALASHANKOU, China, Sept. 17 (Xinhua) -- "I never anticipated that in northern Kazakhstan, we would be able to receive goods purchased from Chinese e-commerce platforms," Nursultan, who did not reveal his full name, told Xinhua recently.
Living in the northernmost part of Kazakhstan, the young man has already joined in the excitement of the annual "Double 11" shopping festival, as his colleagues at a Chinese agricultural company have taught him to navigate Chinese online shopping platforms.
Nursultan told Xinhua that he was surprised to find that many renowned sports brand flagship stores on such platforms offer free cross-border shipping to Kazakhstan for orders over 99 yuan (13.92 U.S. dollars).
Workers unload goods for export from a truck at the Alashankou Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Haobo)
Katya works at a Chinese brand store in Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city. She told Xinhua that shopping on Chinese online platforms is "truly convenient."
She commended the free international shipping and noted that the platforms with fees were still reasonable.
For many young people in Kazakhstan, Chinese online shopping is no longer a novelty. They now scroll through apps and click "buy" with the same ease as checking messages, tracking deliveries that travel thousands of kilometers to reach them. At Almaty's pick-up points, the parcels range from tiny trinkets to massive goods stretching over two meters long.
Online shoppers in Kazakhstan can also buy Chinese products through live streams hosted by e-commerce companies in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
Saltanat promotes a product via live-streaming at Horgos Yiwu International Business Trade Mall in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 13, 2025. (Xinhua)
Saltanat, a cross-border live-streamer at Xinjiang's Horgos Yiwu International Business Trade Mall, said she often showcases household appliances like air fryers, vacuum cleaners and electric irons to consumers in Central Asia.
She told Xinhua that consumers across the region appreciate the fast logistics of Horgos' cross-border e-commerce. In Almaty, shoppers can enjoy an "order today, receive tomorrow" service.
As a crucial border port between China and Kazakhstan, Horgos has lured over 40 cross-border e-commerce enterprises to set up operations.
Statistics from the Horgos Municipal Commerce Bureau show that from January to July this year, cross-border e-commerce registered a trade volume of 29.148 billion yuan (4.1 billion dollars), marking a year-on-year increase of over 814 percent.
The business spans more than 20 countries and regions across Eurasia, offering a diverse range of products including daily necessities, clothing, new energy products and mechanical parts.
Alashankou, another major land port in Xinjiang located north of Horgos, is also seeing rapid growth in the cross-border e-commerce sector.
Sayat, a truck driver from Kazakhstan, waits to load goods at the Alashankou Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Sept. 11, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Haobo)
Sayat, a truck driver from Kazakhstan, told Xinhua that at the Alashankou Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park, his truck was loaded with Chinese goods purchased online by consumers abroad.
"Chinese goods are attractive in price and quality," said Sayat. He said he has also bought clothes, electronics and vehicle parts from Chinese online shopping platforms.
Every day or two, Sayat visits the industrial park to pick up goods and transport them to Dostyk, a Kazakh port, where other drivers take over for onward delivery to Europe.
Many other workers, like Sayat, hustle among a constant stream of trucks at the industrial park, lifting, loading, and moving goods in a flurry of activities that keep the cross-border trade running.
Put into operation in 2023, the industrial park has already attracted over a dozen commerce and logistics enterprises.
Zheng Wei, operation manager of CTS (Xinjiang) International Logistics Co., Ltd, one of the 13 enterprises operating at the park, said his company has established long-term and stable cooperative relations with several major Chinese e-commerce companies.
Once the e-commerce goods reach the Alashankou Port, reloading, customs declaration and departure can take as little as five hours, while it takes around 10 days by road to reach Europe, Zheng said.
A single purchase
