In the first year of the "15th Five-Year Plan", Sichuan organized a large-scale delegation to participate in the 16th Xinjiang Kashi - Central and South Asia Commodity Fair (hereinafter referred to as the "Kashi Fair"), aiming to broaden trade channels for westward opening-up, gain a foothold in Central Asia, and help Sichuan-made products enter international markets.

What opportunities and challenges does Sichuan face as it heads west to go global? How can Sichuan "cross mountains and seas" to seize opportunities in the Central Asian market?

A New Blue Ocean for International Trade

The Central Asian market faces a shortage of manufacturing supply, while Sichuan boasts mature production capacity in sectors such as machinery and equipment

From a geographical perspective, Sichuan appears far-removed from Central Asia, and it is more than 3,000 kilometers away from Kashi, China's westernmost major city.

Though it neither borders on foreign countries nor faces the sea, Sichuan, located at the geometric center of the Eurasian continent, has a long history of commercial and trade ties with Central Asia. Looking back at history, as the poem goes, "Countless bells ring out across the desert, and it must be a camel carrying silk and other goods heading for Anxi." Thousands of years ago, Sichuan's silk, tea and other products were already sold to the western regions via the Silk Road.

In recent years, Sichuan has continuously promoted opening-up to the west and accelerated the building of a strategic highland for westward opening-up. To date, it has established 20 pairs of international sister cities and friendly cooperative relations with Central Asian countries.

In terms of opening-up corridors, Sichuan's cross-border highway transport routes to Central Asia now cover more than 20 key core cities across the five Central Asian countries, carrying over 40 categories of goods. The "Tianfu" cross-border highway shuttle bus service transports more than 100 categories of goods, with a cargo value exceeding 20 billion yuan. Coupled with multiple China Railway Express (CR Express) routes passing through Central Asia, these have opened up a "golden corridor" for Sichuan-made products to reach the outside world.

"When we export electric vehicles to Southeast Asia, sea transport often takes half a month. By comparison, land transport is more efficient, convenient and stable," said Feng Zhongman, Technical Manager of Sichuan Suliyuan New Energy Technology Co., Ltd.

Mature logistics channels have laid the foundation for opening up market access. In recent years, many Sichuan-based companies have expanded business overseas and entered the Central Asian market. For example, Dongfang Electric Co., Ltd. established a Central Asia regional operation center in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Some enterprises have chosen to base themselves in Xinjiang and expand into Central Asia. For instance, Xinda Pump &Valve Co., Ltd. has invested in and built an assembly, production, operation and maintenance center in the Yining Park in Xinjiang, marking a shift from "product trade" to "industrial localization".

As Central Asia enters a boom cycle of infrastructure development and capacity expansion, infrastructure construction and industrialization are just getting underway. Central Asia has become a popular destination for Chinese companies expanding business overseas and a new blue ocean for international trade opportunities.

During the Kashi Fair, at the "Crossing Mountains and Seas from Sichuan and Xinjiang: Co-Building the New Silk Road" Supply and Demand Matchmaking Conference hosted by Sichuan, Rustambek Baratov, a representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan, released a demand list comprising 95 projects worth over 10 billion U.S. dollars, mainly covering mining, residential construction, textile industry, chemical industry and other sectors. Two individual projects each exceed 1 billion U.S. dollars in value: a small-town construction project covering 1,000 hectares (including residential buildings, industrial parks, hotels, etc.) and a modern greenhouse construction project covering 940 hectares.

"The Central Asian market faces a shortage of manufacturing supply, with a large portion of industrial goods dependent on imports, and there is strong demand for products such as agricultural machinery and equipment, electronics and home appliances, and new building materials. Sichuan possesses mature production capacity and cost advantages in sectors such as machinery and equipment and consumer goods, and the economies of Central Asia and Sichuan are highly complementary," said an official from the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Sichuan Province.

The Central Asian Market in the Eyes of Sichuan Enterprises

Overall prices are relatively low, the market for daily consumer goods is fairly active, and consumers prioritize the products' practicality, durability, and value for money

In 2025, China became the largest trading partner of the five Central Asian countries for the first time, with Chinese exports to Central Asia totaling 71.2 billion U.S. dollars. Exports of mechanical and electrical products and high-tech goods saw strong growth, and the market share of the "New Trio" (electric vehicles, lithium-ion batteries, and solar cells) steadily expanded.

By comparison, in 2025, Sichuan's total exports to the five Central Asian countries amounted to less than 10 billion yuan, with a relatively low share of exports in the three categories of complete vehicles and transportation equipment, electronic and electrical equipment, and machinery and equipment. Compared with Sichuan's industrial scale and production capacity, there is still significant room for growth.

"Take rubber as an example. In 2025, the five Central Asian countries, Pakistan, and Belarus imported rubber tires from China totaling nearly 6.8 billion yuan, while Sichuan's exports accounted for only 1.3 percent of the national total. The huge gap represents enormous opportunities," said an official from the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Sichuan Province.

Behind this growth potential lie bottlenecks in expanding business overseas that urgently need to be resolved. For many small and medium-sized enterprises in Sichuan, Central Asia remains somewhat "unfamiliar", with their understanding still limited to the stage of "having heard of it". They lack knowledge of specific country-level demands, market access standards and the competitive landscape, facing market barriers caused by information asymmetry and inadequate distribution channels.

To promote her company's corrosion-resistant stainless steel pipe fittings, Wu Chunling, Deputy General Manager in charge of international trade at Sichuan Nonleak Stainless Steel Pipe Industry Co., Ltd., has made multiple trips to Central Asia to conduct market research and attend fairs. "After the inspections, we found that some Central Asian countries are unable to produce stainless steel, and since our products offer excellent value for money, they were well-received at the fairs."

Several companies interviewed shared their observations, noting that prices in the Central Asian market are generally low, with distinct characteristics of small-town and rural markets. The market for daily consumer goods is relatively active, with a strong emphasis on products' practicality, durability, and value for money.

"We manufacture flexible stone products. We currently have a basic understanding of the construction needs in some Central Asian countries, but we need to gain a more detailed understanding of the market. As a manufacturer, we also need to find reliable overseas partners," said He Jiaren, Sales Director of Yibin Bonavel New Materials Co., Ltd.

For companies with little experience in international trade with Central Asia, issues such as cross-border logistics and legal compliance also pose real obstacles.

Feng Zhongman has conducted on-site inspections in the Central Asian market, but he is still unclear about practical issues such as customs clearance procedures and foreign exchange settlement. "I signed up for an inspection tour of the comprehensive bonded zone during this Kashi Fair, specifically to gain a clear understanding of the customs clearance procedures and get a clear picture of logistics costs."

Sichuan Delegation at the Kashi Fair

Further develop channels to promote the westward expansion of the industry through a "cluster and chain" approach

Faced with opportunities and challenges, how can Sichuan "cross mountains and seas"? One key term is industry-trade coordination, transforming short-term fair matchmaking into long-term cross-border collaboration along the industrial chain.

Reporters noted that this large-scale initiative by Sichuan to organize enterprises to participate in market expansion activities in Xinjiang targeting Central Asia went beyond simply attending the fair and conducting on-site negotiations. Following the events, the organizers also arranged symposiums with relevant Xinjiang authorities and development zones, and organized inspection visits for the enterprises to industrial parks, ports, and comprehensive bonded zones, thereby forming a chain of activities ranging from showcase to matchmaking and to inspection.

An official from the Department of Economy and Information Technology of Sichuan Province explained that ordinary international trade fairs follow the model of "enterprises registering and participating on their own", lacking systematic industrial organization and precise matching. This event explored a shift from "short-term transactions at individual fairs" to a "full-cycle industrial coordination mechanism". Starting from the industry perspective, it first clarified the demand characteristics and growth potential of the Central Asian market, then, in light of Sichuan's key industrial chains, promoted three types of industrial cooperation: localized supporting processing, long-term centralized procurement, and joint R&D.

"In the past, when enterprises explored the market on their own, costs were high and information was scarce. This time, from booth matchmaking to buyer invitations, there has been precise matching," said Wu Chunling. "The corrosion-resistant stainless steel pipe fittings we brought have attracted much attention, and several Central Asian buyers have already made appointments to view samples. It's been very efficient."

The Sichuan delegation's participation at the Kashi Fair is also aimed at further establishing channels and promoting the westward expansion of the industry through a "cluster and chain" approach.

As an important gateway for China's westward opening, Kashi in Xinjiang boasts the unique geographical advantage of "five ports connecting eight countries and one route linking Europe and Asia". Several industrial parks in Kashi are home to a number of companies that specialize in international trade.

Xinjiang Xiaode Electrical Technology Co., Ltd. is one such company. This enterprise, attracted to Xinjiang as part of Guangdong's assistance program, has established operations in Kashi. "The company mainly produces various small home appliances such as electric kettles and electric fans, and leverages Kashi's geographical advantages to expand into Central and South Asia." Wang Tingting, the company's Director of International Trade, explained.

During the Kashi Fair, the Sichuan delegation held multiple symposiums with relevant Xinjiang departments, leveraging the complementary resource advantages of Sichuan and Xinjiang to promote deep integration of the upstream and downstream segments of the two regions' industrial chains, and jointly build an integrated cross-border industrial chain covering both upstream and downstream.

It is worth noting that during the Kashi Fair, Sichuan launched the "Chuan Yue Shan Hai" (Sichuan Crossing Mountains and Seas) independent website, a digital platform for expanding into overseas markets, creating a regular online showcase window. This initiative injects new digital impetus for Sichuan-made products to deepen their presence in the Central and South Asian markets and serve Sichuan's westward opening-up strategy.