BEIJING - Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang will this coming Friday attend the launching ceremony of a trans-national free trade center on the border of China and Kazakhstan in Horgos of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei made the announcement Monday afternoon.

Besides the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center, the event will also celebrate the joining together of a China-Kazakhstan railway, according to Hong.

The trade center, spanning the China-Kazakhstan border river near the village of Horgos, covers 3.43 square km of land on the Chinese side and 1.85 square km on the Kazakh side.

Under an agreement signed between China and Kazakhstan in September 2004, the Horgos center will be developed into a "free port" with free trade and investment opportunities. The center will also serve functions related to processing, manufacturing, trade, merchandise procurement, financial services, tourism and entertainment.