The influx of enterprises into the Kashgar area of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region has emerged as a key driver of trade growth. According to its administrative office, the area recorded a total import and export volume of 93.16 billion yuan ($13.36 billion) in 2025, exceeding its annual target by 5.7 percent.

Since its establishment in November 2023, the Kashgar area has attracted more than 3,100 new enterprises, bringing the total number of registered businesses to 5,173 — an increase of 154.6 percent.

Located in southwestern Xinjiang, Kashgar prefecture has close links with eight countries — including Pakistan and Tajikistan — through roadways and airports within and near the prefecture, serving as a vital corridor to Central Asia, West Asia and South Asia.

Companies are increasingly leveraging the geographic advantages, improved logistics efficiency, and streamlined import and export mechanisms. Kashgar Kangyi Intelligent Technology Co, which manufactures liquid crystal display monitors and hair dryers for Central Asian and Russian markets, recently secured orders for a total of 20,000 hair dryers from Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.

Xie Yu, assistant to the general manager, said the decision to locate in the area was driven by proximity to key markets and supportive policies covering factory leasing, social insurance and logistics.

"With simplified customs procedures, our products now reach the market in just three to five days," Xie said. The company, which began production in March, has achieved an output value of 60 million yuan and plans to start manufacturing projectors and laptops later this year.

Xinjiang Withyoung Health Food Co, specializing in the processing of walnuts, jujubes and prunes, has purchased more than 1,500 metric tons of locally harvested walnuts since autumn and reported a revenue of 110 million yuan in 2025, said General Manager Wei Yongsheng. Their products cater to both domestic and overseas markets, reaching destinations such as Pakistan and Turkiye.

Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Hefei, Anhui province, Withyoung expanded its operations to the Kashgar area in March 2024, attracted by southern Xinjiang's thriving forest fruit industry and strategic location.

According to Xinjiang Daily, the region's forest fruit planting acreage has remained stable in recent years at around 1.47 million hectares, yielding an annual output of about 14 million tons. Over 80 percent of this cultivation is concentrated in southern Xinjiang around the Taklimakan Desert. Southern Xinjiang leads the nation in the planting scale and output of varieties like jujubes, grapes, apricots, pears and almonds. Its walnut production ranks second nationwide.

Wei also cited the potential of the under-construction China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which starts from Kashgar and is scheduled to be completed in six years, as a factor in their location decision.

Logistics efficiency in the Kashgar area has improved significantly since major players, including JD Logistics, the logistics arm of e-commerce giant JD, SF Express and China Post, set up operations at Kashgar area's first 5G-driven smart logistics hub — the first of its kind in southern Xinjiang — in 2025.

Ling Yijie, general manager of Kashgar Xinjiang-Guangdong 5G-Driven Intelligent Logistics Co, said intelligent sorting systems have cut delivery times in southern Xinjiang from around nine days to one to three days, with same-day delivery available in Kashgar city and nearby counties.

Jiang Haitao, deputy director of Kashgar prefecture's commerce bureau, considers institutional innovation a major contributor to the rapid increase in the number of enterprises.

Jiang said the Kashgar area has implemented 205 out of 207 specific measures related to 117 reform tasks, and developed 81 institutional innovation cases, among which 15 have been promoted across Xinjiang and one adopted nationwide by customs authorities.

Contact the writers at fangaiqing@chinadaily.com.cn