The Huoerguosi Railway Port in Huoerguosi, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on December 25, 2024 (XINHUA)

The port city of Huoerguosi, also known as Khorgas or Horgos, in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has a famous check-in spot: the intersection of red and blue blocks at the China-Kazakhstan Huoerguosi International Border Cooperation Center. Here, the red and blue blocks mark the border between China and Kazakhstan.

At the center, the first cross-border cooperation zone established between China and other countries, many tourists would pose for photos while standing with each foot on a different color block—allowing them to "go abroad" in merely a second.

As one of China's closest overland ports to Central Asia and Europe, Huoerguosi was once a busy passage used by traders traveling along the ancient Silk Road. Its role as a border passage dates back more than 140 years. The city lost much of its shine after caravans faded into history, but the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), proposed by China in 2013 with the aim of boosting connectivity along and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes, has revitalized this famous old port.

In Mongolian, "Huoerguosi" means "a place where camels pass," and in the Kazak language, it means "a place where wealth can be accumulated." Many say the latter resonates with what Huoerguosi is becoming today—a regional hub of trade and commerce and a true testament to the positive impact of the BRI.

Tourists select goods in a duty-free shop at the China-Kazakhstan Huoerguosi International Border Cooperation Center in Huoerguosi on July 26, 2024 (XINHUA)

Global business

Covering 5.6 square km, with 3.43 square km in the Chinese section and 2.17 square km in the Kazakh section, the border cooperation center officially began operations in April 2012. Its Chinese section is also part of the Huoerguosi Area of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone, which was inaugurated in November 2023.

Citizens of China, Kazakhstan and other countries can enter the center using valid documents such as passports or entry-exit permits, allowing them to engage in face-to-face negotiations, transactions, shopping and tourism without visas.

According to official statistics, as of last November 25, more than 6.6 million people had visited the center in 2024, a year-on-year increase of 77 percent, setting a new high in its history.

The commercial premises of the center are also filled with entrepreneurs who see the opportunities in Huoerguosi and are optimistic about the future.

Hu Chunmei, who is from Wenzhou in Zhejiang Province in east China, runs a duty-free shop selling imported cosmetics, jewelry and clothes at the center.

Before arriving in Huoerguosi, Hu and her family had lived in Italy for many years. Initially, she was involved in the cosmetics business in Rome. In 2016, with the rise of daigou (overseas shopping agents who buy products and sell to consumers in China), she decided to return to China to sell imported products and developed the idea of doing business in Huoerguosi.

Favorable tax policies and an advantageous geographic location were what attracted Hu. "Enterprises established in Huoerguosi are exempted from corporate income tax for five years, which is particularly beneficial for startups," she recalled, adding every visitor to the center can also purchase 8,000 yuan ($1,096) worth of duty-free products daily.

In 2017, she opened a store spanning more than 4,000 square meters in the center, mainly selling imported goods of over 10,000 varieties.

The entrepreneurial journey was not always smooth sailing, and logistics used to be a major headache for her. According to Hu, air freight is convenient but costly, at over 20 yuan ($2.7) per kilogram. Sea freight takes too long. As Xinjiang's ports are far from maritime routes, goods should first reach costal ports such as Tianjin, Dalian in Liaoning Province or Qingdao in Shandong Province for transshipment, with total transport times reaching up to three months, reducing the shelf life of imported food.

She began using the China-Railway Express, launched in 2011, for transportation in 2018, which not only reduces logistics costs but also improves transport efficiency. As of December 24, 2024, the Huoerguosi Port had handled 8,541 China-Europe (Central Asia) freight trains last year alone.

Now it takes only 15 days for goods to be transported from Hu's warehouse in Duisburg, Germany, where products from Italy, France, and Switzerland are stored, to her duty-free shop in Huoerguosi.

After seven years of entrepreneurship in the center, Hu feels that there have been many changes. In terms of logistics alone, besides importing goods via the China-Railway Express, she can also establish overseas warehouses and sell goods overseas through cross-border e-commerce.

Jiang Congjie, Deputy General Manager of Huoerguosi Jinyi International Trade Group Co. Ltd., also mentioned the great possibilities behind overseas warehouses, saying, "We plan to build a 1.33-million-square-meter warehouse in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Once the facility is completed, more China's advanced and high-quality products can be showcased to people around the world, allowing global procurement. This will truly achieve barrier-free trade."

Jinyi is a comprehensive industrial group primarily engaged in agricultural cultivation, procurement and transportation, warehousing logistics and import-export trade. In 2023, Jinyi's import and export trade volume exceeded 10.5 billion yuan ($1.44 billion).

A host conducts a livestream at an e-commerce base within the China-Kazakhstan Huoerguosi International Border Cooperation Center in Huoerguosi on June 10, 2024 (XINHUA)

Online commerce

The bustling Huoerguosi, lively throughout the four seasons, has also gained online popularity.

Walking into the Huoerguosi Yiwu International Business Trade Mall within the center, apart from the bustling crowd of tourists, the most eye-catching scenes are the livestreaming setups inside the stores. Some streamers are recording videos for products, while others use their phones to introduce product features to online viewers.

The mall has formed a multilingual livestreaming team of over 20 people and has recruited many Central Asian influencers to conduct cross-border sales on overseas platforms. "With the increase of signed Central Asian influencers, our follower base is expected to reach 200 million," Jin Xingzhong, Chairman of the trade mall, said.

Using multilingual short videos and livestreaming to seamlessly connect offline stores with online platforms, the mall has allowed for almost 24/7 coverage of overseas markets. Its influence has expanded from Kazakhstan to Uzbekistan, Russia and other countries, Jin added.

In 2023, the team garnered over 3 million new followers across overseas platforms, with livestreaming sales exceeding 20 million yuan ($2.74 million).

"We plan to collaborate with leading livestreaming e-commerce platforms in Hangzhou (in Zhejiang) and Shenzhen (in Guangdong Province) to introduce more multilingual hosts, allowing quality Chinese products to reach further destinations," Jin said, holding a vision to transform the center into a cross-border e-commerce livestreaming procurement hub for Central Asia.

Wang Lijuan, Director of the Office of the Administrative Committee of the China-Kazakhstan Huoerguosi International Border Cooperation Center, said cross-border livestreaming has also driven the upgrade of business formats in the center.

"Many well-known Central Asian brands, such as the home appliance brands SOKANY and LUMABELLA, and textile brand VITAC, have opened flagship stores in our center," Wang said, adding it has also driven the development of related industries such as cross-border livestreaming training, the hospitality plus food and beverage sectors, as well as the night economy."