2025 Xinjiang Tacheng Baktu Forum opens, strengthening regional cooperation

Located on China's border with Kazakhstan, Tacheng is a gateway for China's westward opening. Its Baktu Port was a historic hub on the ancient Silk Road.

According to Zhi Xianwei, secretary of Tacheng's prefectural committee, the port now handles 3 million metric tons of cargo and facilitates 500,000 border crossings annually.

The forum also highlighted multilateral cooperation in infrastructure and logistics. Representatives from Kazakhstan and Russia discussed ongoing projects, such as the Baktu-Ayaguz Railway, which is set to boost transport capacity by 25 million tons by 2027. Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia proposed a "twin hub" logistics model to improve freight connectivity with the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, while exploring collaboration in green energy and hydrogen technology.