Windy, remote Chinese border town dreams big in global trade

Exiting the plane after landing at the Bole Alashankou Airport, one will most likely be greeted by howling gales that loudly whistle in the ears of unsuspecting travelers. Yet with its harsh climate, the city, located on the northwestern tip of China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has big dreams to develop into a global trade hub that helps connect Europe and Asia through overland trade.

Its aspirations are rooted in the continued development of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which just celebrated its 10th anniversary last month. Put simply, the initiative seeks to generate greater connectivity between continents through trade and infrastructure investment via both land and sea routes.  

On the map, Alashankou sits at the heart of the Eurasian continent bordering Kazakhstan, which positions it to become a crucial checkpoint in this grand strategy. Its unique geographical location has made it the busiest land port-of-entry in China since 2010 when it surpassed Manzhouli in China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. 

Alashankou's strategic importance became obvious at the end of 2012 when it was upgraded from a township-level port under the city of Bole to a county-level city. 

This year, nearly 5,500 freight trains carrying various goods, from Chinese television sets to Spanish olive oil, have passed through the border town, the majority transported via the China-Europe freight trains. With the fast development of the BRI in recent years, the number of trains has increased by an average of over 10 percent per annum since 2020, according to official statistics.

But it's the distance and speed that's truly impressive, with one end of the railroad along China's eastern coast while the other is in Madrid in western Europe. The railway transports over 200 types of goods across some 10,000 kilometers of land, allowing cargo departing from Xinjiang to arrive in Europe within two weeks. Meanwhile, seaborne shipping could take two to three months. 

The increasing vitality of this trade route is most keenly felt by the workers of Alashankou port, who labor day and night to ensure the safe passage of the trains. Due to differences in gauges used by China and the former Soviet countries in Central Asia, the containers need to be inspected and reloaded at the port before entering or exiting the country.

"I am responsible for inspecting all containers before they are loaded onto the China-Europe freight trains, so it's fair to say that I'm a guardian in charge of its safety," dockworker Jia Bingzhong says as he walks to the warehouse where containers are being stored temporarily, his eyes fixed on the mechanical movements of the cranes. In less than 40 minutes, some 50 containers are reloaded.

"(The trains) have a reduced damage rate on the road, which helps save cost for companies," Jia says."Many transport agencies now specifically request the China-Europe freight train (to ship their goods), and we've gotten busier for sure."

The Alashankou Comprehensive Bonded Zone (CBZ) was set up in 2011 with the approval of the State Council to boost the region's economy. Being Xinjiang's first bonded zone and the 16th of its kind in China, the creation of the CBZ has attracted over 700 corporations, including industry heads such as CITIC Group, the China National Nuclear Corporation and China Minmetals.

Companies set up inside the Alashankou CBZ – a specially designated area under the supervision of China's customs authority that spans 10.9 square kilometers – enjoy favorable taxation policies. In addition to an abundance of preferential policies for foreign trade and comprehensive functions, the CBZ is also proficient in developing bonded processing, logistics and services, and other businesses.

That means a delay in customs duties payment, which translates into real cost savings for companies.

When he heard about Alashankou's policies, Zhou Shanzheng sensed an unprecedented business opportunity. The 44-year-old decided to leave his comfortable life behind and travel some 3,800 kilometers from his hometown in Shandong Province to start a business in the remote border town. After registering in 2020, the Xinbo Oil & Gas Pipeline began operations last year. For Zhou and his partners, who took out bank loans and used their personal savings, this is an opportunity of a lifetime.

"The company's development so far hasn't been off too much from our expectations back then," said Zhou, now vice general manager at the company which manufactures industrial pipelines. Despite not being inside the CBZ, the local government still extended favorable taxation policies for the company's export business. He said domestic demand and demand from Central Asian countries have given him enough confidence that the business will strive.

(Video by Qi Jianqiang)