Shiliuyun-Xinjiang Daily (Reporters Yu Jiangyan and Ma Yining) news: The 2026 government work report of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region proposed adhering to high-standard opening-up to better serve and integrate into the domestic and international dual circulations.

With its unique geographical advantage of "five ports connecting eight countries and one route linking Europe and Asia," Xinjiang is firmly anchored in the "five major strategic positions" assigned by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. It is advancing the high-quality development of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, accelerating the construction of the "golden channel" between Asia and Europe and the gateway of the country's westward opening up, and achieving new breakthroughs in both domestic and international opening-up.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xinjiang's total import and export volume surpassed the 100-billion-yuan (about 14.4 billion U.S. dollars) threshold for four consecutive years, reaching 520.37 billion yuan (about 74.9 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, with a growth rate ranking first nationwide. As the 15th Five-Year Plan period approaches, how should Xinjiang chart the blueprint for open development? How can it ensure the gateway stands firm and the "golden channel" between Asia and Europe shines even brighter? At the regional “two sessions”, deputies and members actively offered suggestions and proposals, advocating for the establishment of a new, higher-level open economic system to further open Xinjiang's doors wider to the world and expand its circle of friends.

Photo taken on December 30, 2025 shows inbound and outbound passenger vehicles and trucks enter and exit the Khunjerab Pass in Tajik Autonomous County of Taxkorgan, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Zhang Nan)

Improving infrastructure to achieve "physical connectivity"

Though the journey is long, perseverance will lead us to the destination.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, Xinjiang formulated and issued China's first port construction plan based on the "one port, one policy" approach. A series of key projects aimed at improving infrastructure and enhancing traffic efficiency were successfully implemented, leading to the temporary opening of the Bedel Port, the year-round opening of the Khunjerab Pass, and the official inauguration of the northern terminal area of Urumqi Tianshan International Airport. The number of ports in Xinjiang approved by the State Council for opening to the outside world increased to 19, forming a multi-tiered opening-up pattern with wide-coverage.

Infrastructure construction serves as the sinews and blood vessels for open development, and Xinjiang is forging major arteries of connectivity through forward-looking planning.

"To support it in building a new, higher-level open economic system, we will accelerate the infrastructure construction of border ports during the 15th Five-Year Plan period," said Guo Sheng, a deputy to the People's Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and secretary of the Party Committee of the Department of Transport of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. He emphasized efforts to upgrade the highway grades of ports, ensuring that 11 highway ports are connected by expressways (or first-class highways) and four by second-class highways. Key projects include the completion of the G682 Karamay-Alashankou Highway, the G683 Qapqal-Dulata Highway, the Bedel Port Highway, and the G3013 Wuqia-Kangsu Expressway, among others.

Ensure the flow of domestic and international transportation corridors run smoothly. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, efforts will be made to accelerate the preliminary work for projects such as the G314 Kashi-Taxkorgan and Taxkorgan-Khunjerab sections, as well as the G219 Hemu (Jikepulin)-Kanas section. Additionally, major projects including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway and the domestic section of the third China-Kazakhstan railway will be advanced in their planning and construction.

Altay Prefecture serves as a crucial node on the northern corridor of the Silk Road Economic Belt and a pivotal support point on the western route of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. It boasts three regularly open land ports: Jeminay, Takixken, and Hongshanzui. During the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the hardware facilities of these ports will be upgraded at a faster pace. "We will make every effort to facilitate the southward relocation of the freight corridor at the Takixken Port, actively promote the 35-kilovolt power grid transformation at the Hongshanzui Port, and plan for the advancement of the Fuyun-Takixken Port railway project," stated Wang Fang, a deputy to the 14th People's Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Altay Prefecture Development and Reform Commission.

From port upgrades to the extension of international corridors, every upgraded road represents a vivid practice of high-quality co-construction of the Belt and Road Initiative and serves as a critical support for Xinjiang's transformation from a geographical hub to a developmental hub.

Innovating institutional rules to promote "institutional connectivity"

To forge new heights in opening up to the outside world, Xinjiang is taking high-standard opening up as its guide and institutional innovation as its core, aligning itself with international economic and trade rules to a high standard, and better leveraging the exemplary and leading role of its pilot free trade zone.

Capitalizing on Xinjiang's unique geographical advantage of "five ports connecting eight countries and one route linking Europe and Asia," the State Council issued a general plan for the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in October 2023. Over the past two years, the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone has boldly experimented, ventured, and autonomously reformed, accumulating a total of 72 provincial-level institutional innovation achievements, establishing itself as a frontier for high-standard opening up in Xinjiang.

To expand and enhance the quality of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone and unleash greater reform and development momentum, five collaborative innovation zones as the first batch have recently been established in the Bortala Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Changji Hui Autonomous Prefecture, Bayingolin Mongolian Autonomous Prefecture, Aksu Prefecture, and Shihezi City within the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

"We will solidly advance the construction of the first batch of collaborative innovation zones, guide each zone to engage in synergistic innovation and industrial complementarity, and strive to produce a new batch of replicable and scalable provincial-level institutional innovation achievements. This will allow more benefits of institutional innovation to be realized across Xinjiang, further stimulate the endogenous development momentum of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and inject strong open impetus into the high-quality development of Xinjiang," said Li Xuan, a member of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and secretary of the Party Leadership Group of the Department of Commerce of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Photo taken on December 25, 2025 shows Horgos Railway Port in Horgos City of Ili Kazak Autonomous Prefecture, northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo by Dong Zhijie)

Yu Chengzhong, a member of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Chairman of the Board of Horgos Jinyi International Trade (Group) Co., Ltd., who has been deeply involved in the foreign trade sector for over 30 years, has witnessed the remarkable transformation of Horgos from a transportation outpost to a frontier of opening up. "I suggest thoroughly implementing the strategy to upgrade the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, systematically planning and coordinating the development of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, the construction of the 'One Port, Two Zones, Five Centers, and Port Economic Belt,' to drive various platforms to become growth poles for high-quality development. In terms of institutional mechanisms and services, we should align with international high-standard rule systems and build a comprehensive, integrated institutional framework and mechanisms that are compatible with statutory bodies," he said.

Macao, located within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, possesses unique advantages in establishing trade channels and aligning standards. "I propose strengthening industrial collaboration between Xinjiang and Macao, establishing a system for mutual recognition of standards, leveraging Macao's trade network advantages to promote products bearing both the “Macao Certification” and “Xinjiang Brand” labels to international markets. Additionally, I suggest launching direct flights between Macao and Urumqi to create an aerial bridge connecting with international markets," said Wu Huawei, a member of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and executive president of the Macao Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Gathering export-oriented industries to consolidate the gateway of westward opening up

Data released by Urumqi Customs shows that in 2025, it supervised 18,000 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains throughout the year, an increase of 7.4 percent year-on-year, ranking first in the country in terms of the number of supervised trains.

Photo taken on December 31, 2025 shows customs officers from Alashankou Customs conduct inspection work on the goods of the China-Europe Railway Express. (Photo by Pan Jiayang)

"In recent years, the volume of China-Europe freight trains has surged, continuously unlocking the golden value of Xinjiang as a vital corridor linking Asia and Europe. Looking ahead, to achieve higher-level opening up, we must not only establish logistics channels but also build pathways for people — launching more international flights and dedicated trains, attracting more export-oriented enterprises to set up operations here. By creating a new paradigm of opening-up where people travel with ease and goods flow freely, we can transform Xinjiang's openness from mere traffic volume to sustainable business retention." said Buwajian Abula, a member of the 13th Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and director of the Economic and Social Development Research Center at Xinjiang Agricultural University.

The value of transportation corridors ultimately hinges on industrial prosperity. From being a mere "through-flow" to becoming a "reservoir of growth," Xinjiang is propelling its corridor economy toward the higher echelons of industrial and value chains.

Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture boasts two national first-class land ports — Torugart and Irkeshtam. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the prefecture's foreign trade surged from 1.926 billion yuan (about 277.14 million U.S. dollars) in 2020 to 12.99 billion yuan (about 1.70 billion U.S. dollars) in 2025, marking an average annual growth of 46.48 percent. "For the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the prefecture will actively apply to establish a collaborative development zone under the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, accelerate the construction of key open platforms, and secure pilot policies for processing trade in border citizen mutual markets. We will vigorously develop a macro foreign trade centered on characteristic import-export processing and a micro foreign trade rooted in rural small commodity economies, driving high-standard opening up through industrial clustering," said Wurouziali Haxiharbayi, a deputy to the 14th People's Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and governor of Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture.

The key pilot zone for development and opening-up in Tacheng, approved by the State Council in 2020 as a national-level development and opening-up pilot zone along China's northwestern border, serves as a new growth pole of building a "golden channel" between Asia and Europe and the gateway of the country's westward opening up. "Looking ahead, we will seize the opportunity of the construction and launch of the third China-Kazakhstan railway, proactively plan for railway port development, cluster industries such as mineral resources, petrochemicals, and agricultural and sideline products, vigorously promote ‘border trade + on-site processing,’ and accelerate the transition from a corridor economy to a port economy and industrial economy," said Zhi Xianwei, a deputy to the 14th People's Congress of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and secretary of the Tacheng Prefectural Party Committee.

Standing at a new starting point, Xinjiang is leveraging its transportation corridors as a foundation and industrial development as its core, accelerating its transformation from a corridor economy to a hub economy and industrial economy. Looking ahead, by strengthening cooperation foundations through physical connectivity, stimulating open vitality through institutional connectivity, and enhancing development momentum through industrial clustering, the "golden channel" between Asia and Europe will undoubtedly shine brighter, and the gateway of the country's westward opening up will stand even more resolutely.

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