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Business
Print Edition> Business
UPDATED: September 9, 2014 NO. 37 SEPTEMBER 11, 2014
The Dance of the Silk Road
Xinjiang's economy is expected to welcome a brighter future with the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt
By Yuan Yuan
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SKILLED HANDS: A Uygur woman from China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region demonstrates her traditional embroidery techniques at the China-Eurasia Expo on September 3 (XINHUA)

"In recent years, the trade volume between Georgia and China has increased largely thanks to Xinjiang," said Zviad Dzidziguri, Deputy Chairman of the Georgian Parliament, who attended the opening ceremony of this year's China-Eurasia Expo.

Sitting at an important hub along the emerging economic belt, Georgia looks forward to more cooperation with Xinjiang, according to Dzidziguri.

Turkey, another important country along the Silk Road, has also been very active in economic cooperation with Xinjiang in the last few years. At the China-Turkey Business and Investment Forum held in Urumqi on September 2, Li Jianjie, Deputy Director of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region's Department of Commerce, revealed that in the past 10 years, the trade volume between Xinjiang and Turkey has increased from less than $1 million to more than $10 million. Turkey has so far invested in 10 projects in Xinjiang.

Attractive opportunities

Aiming to draw regional economies together to discuss development strategies, a host of forums on boosting exchanges in terms of politics, economy, trade and energy were held on the sidelines of this year's China-Eurasia Expo.

"Forums focusing on the Silk Road Economic Belt, technical innovation and China's homegrown Beidou Navigation System [an alternative to GPS] will certainly play a significant part in enhancing economic exchanges and draw more investment to Xinjiang," said Li Jingyuan, head of the Xinjiang International Expo Administration.

Li Jingyuan said that discussions on Xinjiang's fruit industry would be particularly beneficial, as the region boasts a geographical advantage.

"Experts from China, Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries exchange ideas on fruit plantation as well as market potential, or even sign contracts, which provides a golden opportunity for Xinjiang's fruits to go global," Li Jingyuan added.

Due to the opportunities arising from the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt, a huge amount of investment is flowing into Xinjiang. On September 2, 203 projects in the region with investment from companies all over China were signed. Their combined value reached 20 trillion yuan ($3.26 trillion).

Among them, the number of textile projects is 22, involving investment of 28.9 billion yuan ($4.71 billion), an increase of 16.22 percent compared to the previous year.

The boom in the textile industry in Xinjiang was also reflected at this year's China-Eurasia Expo, which, for the first time, specifically set up a separate area for clothing and textile exhibition.

Sun Xiuqin, a fashion designer local in Xinjiang, displayed her new designs at the expo. "Xinjiang is home to many minority ethnic groups and their costumes are very beautiful," said Sun. "These costumes provide various inspirations for me and I believe they will be popular in the world."

"This is the first time that Xinjiang's local textile companies have displayed themselves at an international expo," said Fang Liqin, General Manager of Hetianshangyi Clothing Co. Ltd., which opened its factory in Xinjiang and is expected to put it into use in late September. "We spared no efforts to show our best at the expo."

Fang is very happy that two companies from Canada and Kazakhstan expressed their will to cooperate with Hetianshangyi on the first day of the expo. "The textile market for the countries in Central Asia has a lot of potential and we are very optimistic for the future of our business," Fang said.

Wang Ning, an economic research fellow with the Xinjiang Academy of Social Sciences, said that the China-Eurasia Expo will continue to be an economic impetus for the region, particularly amid Xinjiang's growing influence on the Silk Road Economic Belt.

Email us at: yuanyuan@bjreview.com

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