All vibrant on the western front

Busy land ports

In Kezilesu Kirgiz autonomous prefecture, Irkeshtam Port is doing a vibrant trade.

The most western port in China, it is only about 210 km from Osh, Kyrgyzstan. The port is also an important part of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan highway, which makes it easier for China to trade with these countries as well as Europe.

Every day, about 450 trucks loaded with clothes, shoes, textiles, automobile parts, mechanical equipment and home appliances, as well as imported dried fruit and coal, wait in line to pass through the port.

On Oct 4, a total of 1,200 metric tons of coal from Kyrgyzstan entered China through the port and was unloaded at the public bonded warehouse of Xinjiang Zhongyuan Nanjiang Coal Storage and Distribution.

This marked the official start of operations of the first coal storage and distribution bonded warehouse in southern Xinjiang, which has a storage capacity of 400,000 tons.

Xinjiang has abundant coal resources, but their distribution is uneven. The southern Xinjiang regions of Hotan, Kashgar, Kezilesu Kirgiz and Aksu have a relatively low share of the coal resources in Xinjiang, and local coal production cannot fully meet demand, which in turn limits economic development.

With the deepening of the BRI, the company has invested in the construction of six large and medium-sized coal mines in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Three of the coal mines are located less than 200 km from Turgart and Irkeshtam ports.

"By utilizing our own coal resources in the mining areas and investing in the construction of a coal storage and distribution bonded warehouse base in Kezilesu Kirgiz, we can effectively alleviate the coal supply-demand imbalance in southern Xinjiang," said Li Minglin, chairman of the company.

The company imports about 200 tons of coal daily from Kyrgyzstan to be delivered to cement plants, steel mills, power stations, coal trading centers, and other locations, said Zheng Yingfa, its general manager.

The busy cross-border trade also brings more income for logistics workers. Gao Zhangong, a truck driver from Henan province, said he can earn around 4,000 to 5,000 yuan per trip, and he can make two to three trips a month.