Asia-Pacific

Sino-Kazakh ties manifest in border market's surge

By Lei Xiaoxun in Beijing and Liu Tao in Xinjiang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-12-18 09:54

As China and resource-abundant neighbors such as Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan are beefing up co-ops for energy and nature resources, the cross-border market between China's border city Tacheng and Kazakhstan has also been injected with new vigor thanks to the enhanced bilateral relations from the grassroots level.

After seven months of preparation, the market began formal operation on Dec 2, and merchants from Kazakhstan were permitted to cross the border to the market in China without visa.

"Within only three days, buyers from Kazakhstan landed altogether 10 contracts with me, in other words, I can sell more that 1,000 kilograms of mushroom to Kazakhstan - at a price two to four times the average retail price in the domestic market", said Zhong Xinlong, a mushroom merchant from Tacheng.

Tacheng, in China's northwestern Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, is 9 kilometers from the Kazakhstan frontier. The Baktu cross-border market is located in the Baktu International Trade Center. The center was constructed with a 40 million yuan government investment in 1993.

The market occupies a total area of 21,000 square meters, with more than 400 fully decorated booths that can hold up to 10,000 people for daily business and 5,000 tons of commodities at the same time. The estimated annual profit of the market was up to 15 million yuan, according to the Baktu land port management committee.

Business in the marketplace is settled in yuan, and authorities on both sides provided convenient currency conversion points for their people. Custom officers on each side offered easy clearance procedures for both buyers and sellers.

"Kazakhstan customers showed great interest in our main product, sea-buckthorn tea", said Wang Fang, sales manager of a local agriculture produce company. The export business transaction in this market is fast and convenient, the company's tea stockpile was cleared in less than a week. "We are more confident to further tap the potential in the central Asia market."

The trade history between China and Kazakhstan can be dated back to 1850s, and the Tacheng Baktu cross-border market marked the formalization of people-to-people business exchange for the first time.

Government officials from both sides stressed the significance of the market, "Kazakhstan is the most important trader and strategic partner with Tacheng, and the cross-border market underlined the latest progress in bilateral economic and cultural exchange", said Peng Jiarui, CPC party secretary of Xinjiang Tacheng district.

The governor of East Kazakhstan province added that Kazakhstan is willing to purchase more Chinese merchandise, which is known for good quality and reasonable price; on the other hand, Kazakhstan is also looking forward to showcase their unique and competitive products. "My government will do its utmost to fulfill this duty", he said.

Ma Yue contributed to the story