Booming Trade between China and Countries in Central AsiaA new stage of trade and economic cooperation is expected between China and countries in Central Asia, an official with the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation said.The official made the statement at an ongoing forum on economic and trade cooperation between China and its five neighboring countries in Central Asia, in this city in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Business people and government officials from China, Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzebekistan and Kyrgyzstan attending the meeting agreed that the cooperation between China and the five countries will experience a prosperous future. China has a 3,700-km border with the countries. The border trade between China and the countries used to focus on daily commodities, steel, cotton, leather, food and small electronic appliances. But in recent years, the border trade has begun to concentrate on machinery and electronic products as well as high-tech developments. Meanwhile, China carried out a series of cooperation and investment projects in the countries in the fields of agricultural technology and development of oil and gas resources. The total investment of China in the five countries reached 500 million U.S. dollars, 100 times more than the fund from the countries. With the further implementation of China's development strategy on western area, the trade cooperation and exchanges with the five countries will enter a new period, the official added. |
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