China's Xinjiang sees surging cross-border e-commerce trade

URUMQI -- Urumqi customs in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region cleared nearly 25.2 million cross-border e-commerce lists worth $106 million from January to August, up 370 percent and 390 percent respectively year on year.

The Alataw Pass, a major rail port at the China-Kazakhstan border in Xinjiang, has shown great market potential in cross-border e-commerce trade since the business was launched in January.

So far, the port has handled 22 freight train routes loading over 200 varieties of goods, radiating to 13 countries, including Germany, Belgium, and Russia, according to Urumqi customs.

The China-Europe freight trains can carry the e-commerce parcels to European customers within two weeks, which is 80 percent shorter than shipping time, while the price is only about 20 percent of that by air, according to staff with Alataw Pass International Express Co., Ltd.

Besides the border port, as an important hub for Xinjiang's transportation, trade, and logistics, the Urumqi International Land Port Area has also contributed to the e-commerce trade in the region, attracting more than 2,000 enterprises.

Cheng Ge, vice general manager of the Xinjiang branch of Best Logistics Technology Co., Ltd., said the company is laying out cross-border e-commerce logistics services nationwide, and the export parcels from the eastern and southern regions of China can be transported to Xinjiang for sorting, classification, data declaration, and customs clearance.