Economy

Xinjiang's frontier trade faces challenges

By Cai Muyuan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2010-10-21 13:32

The Customs Union of Kazakhstan, Russia and Belarus has affected trade ties between Kazakhstan and Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in China, Malina Jianabuer, deputy director-general of the region's Commerce Department told China Daily during an interview on Wednesday.

Malina Jianabuer, deputy director-general of Xinjiang's Commerce Department, is interviewed by China Daily on Wednesday. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn]

As the No 1 trade partner of Xinjiang, Kazakhstan has raised the import tariff on 5,044 commodities, including textile garments, goods for light industry, and mechanical and electrical products, which dominate the country's import list of goods from China. Moreover, as the customs union recently unified its customs procedures and commodity inspection and quarantine standard, which is higher than Kazakhstan's current standard, the upgraded and complex procedures will add difficulties to China's export to Kazakhstan and trigger a cost increase for Xinjiang's related companies, according to Jianabuer.

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Petroleum and petroleum products accounted for about 50 percent of China's import from Russia and Kazakhstan. The export policies of energy products within the customs union's framework can be unfavorable to China's energy import, Jianabuer said.

The customs union of the three countries lowers the import tariff of electrical products, especially home appliances. "Though it might raise Xinjiang's export volume of the products, we should not be optimistic about Xinjiang's frontier trade," Jianabuer said.

The volume of imports and exports of Xinjiang's frontier trade – trade between countries sharing a border – totaled $6.25 billion in the first nine month of this year, a decline of 4.9 percent year-on-year. Xinjiang's total volume of imports and exports reached $11.27 billion in the first nine months, an increase of 15.3 percent year-on-year.