At 11:13 on April 2, 2023, under the supervision of Kashgar customs officials, a special train loaded with 50 containers of cloth slowly left the railway freight yard of Kashgar Railway Freight Center and started its journey to Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The Central Asia train from Kashgar, Xinjiang, China to Tashkent, Uzbekistan has successfully launched.

The China-Uzbekistan Kashgar-Tashkent Central Asia train departs from Kashgar Railway Station, exits through the Khorgos Port in Xinjiang, and finally arrives in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. The entire journey of the train is about 4,500 kilometers, and the total duration is expected to be about 12 days.

The Kashgar region has unique geographical advantages, resource endowment and open potential, and is an important fulcrum of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. In recent years, the Kashgar region has seized policy opportunities, relied on its location, resources, and industrial advantages, actively served and integrated into the Belt and Road Initiative, and continued to build a large channel for opening up to the outside world. The scale of imports and exports of various products has grown rapidly, and the level of foreign trade development has continued to improve. According to statistics, in the first two months of 2023, the import and export value of Kashgar to countries along the Belt and Road was 8.75 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 68.8%.

The Central Asia train has the advantages of fast and efficient, stable operation, safety and convenience, and is less affected by the natural environment. It has become an important carrier to promote the interconnection of the Silk Road Economic Belt, and it is the key to maintain the safe operation of the supply chain, logistics chain and industrial chain. golden channel. The opening of the train has opened up a new channel for international trade and logistics leading to Central Asia, which will further smooth the international and domestic dual circulation, improve the transportation system of the Central Asian train, and closely connect the Kashgar region and the countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt. Economic and trade exchanges have provided more choices for more local products in Kashgar, Xinjiang, and the whole country to go global. At the same time, it plays an important role in promoting the cultivation of new economic growth points in the Kashgar region, deeply integrating into the Belt and Road Initiative, and building the southern Xinjiang fulcrum of the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt.Editor/Ma Xue