Construction began on Saturday on the Chinese side of a
cross-border trade zone between China and Kazakhstan at Korgas in
the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, northwest
China.
The China-Kazakhstan Korgas International Border Cooperation
Center was the next strategic cooperation project after the
cross-border oil pipelines between the two countries, according to
Kazak Industry and Trade Minister Vladimir Shkolnik.
The center would help promote economic and trade ties between
the two countries, he said during a trip to Xinjiang in April.
The center involves a total investment of 8 to 10 billion yuan
(US$1 billion to 1.25 billion) and is expected to open in five to
seven years, said Liang Xinyuan, director of the center's
administration.
The central area of the zone covers 1.2 square kilometers in
Kazakhstan and 3.43 square kilometers in China, and an auxiliary
area will cover another 9.73 square kilometers in China.
Kazakhstan started the construction on its side in March.
Liang said the center would showcase and sell products from the
two countries, and promote tourism and cultural exchanges.
Kazak President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed the trade zone to
Chinese President Hu Jintao in June 2003.
Trade between China and Kazakhstan reached a record US$6 billion
in 2005.
(Xinhua News Agency June 4, 2006)