Northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region has announced a plan to set up an oil and gas trade center in Karamay, as the region sets its sights on doing more business in Central Asia.

Approved by Xinjiang's development and reform commission, the plan is in accordance with the ambition of the nation's top energy authority to research and set up an international energy trade center targeting Central Asia. The Karamay center is intended to help promote basic infrastructure in Xinjiang, which is a core region in the Belt and Road Initiative, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Karamay has witnessed steady development of its gas and oil exploration and development. In the past five years, the area has explored oil storage of up to 500 million tons, and gas storage of 15.65 billion cubic meters, according to Xinjiang Economic Daily.

Related industries have also seen rapid growth, with 34 research institutes and over 60,000 researchers in Karamay working to develop more advanced technology for gas and oil exploration and transportation. Such services have been exported to 12 countries, including neighboring Russia and Kazakhstan, the newspaper reported.