A truck drives through the Khunjerab Pass in Taxkorgan Tajik Autonomous County, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Jan. 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Huhu)
URUMQI, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region saw a 19.9 percent year-on-year increase in the total value of its foreign trade in 2025, ranking first in terms of growth rate among all Chinese provincial-level regions, according to the regional government's information office on Wednesday.
Li Xuan, deputy director of Xinjiang's department of commerce, said at a press conference that the region's total import and export value came in at 520.37 billion yuan (74.6 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025.
Xinjiang has established a multi-level and three-dimensional platform system for opening-up, spearheaded by the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone and supported by national economic and technological development zones, cross-border economic cooperation zones, and comprehensive bonded zones, according to Li.
Over the past five years, more than half of all China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains exited China via Xinjiang, and the region's major highway ports have achieved a round-the-clock customs clearance capacity. Urumqi Tianshan International Airport now operates 37 international cargo routes connecting 36 cities in 22 countries and regions. The airport's cargo throughput surged 152.2 percent year on year in 2025.
The optimization of Xinjiang's international business environment has been crucial in enhancing the quality and efficiency of the region's foreign trade, Li noted. Xinjiang has enacted regulations to promote the development of its port economy, and introduced a series of policies to foster innovation in the trade of goods, services and digital products.
Meanwhile, Xinjiang is actively building a comprehensive services system integrating governments, industry associations, professional organizations and enterprises, providing institutional support for market entities to grow, Li said.
It is also proactively undertaking industrial relocation from eastern and central China, and making all-out efforts to attract investment. A large number of export-oriented industrial projects have already landed or are set to be established in Xinjiang.
"With the vigorous development of new foreign trade formats such as global bonded aircraft maintenance and cross-border e-commerce, Xinjiang continues to optimize its trade structure, and the integration of industry and trade is strengthening," Li said.
Leveraging its geographical advantages, Xinjiang is set to achieve high-quality development characterized by steady growth in trade scale, a diverse range of market entities and the continuous optimization of its trade structure, Li added.
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