Hussein, a Pakistan businessman, is going through the Khunjerab Pass of China again to get home, bringing over 2,000 Chinese mobile phones with him.
He will be back to Gilgit, a northern city in Pakistan, located over 3,000 km away from the pass in Xinjiang Uyghur autonomous region. He and his brother operate a store there which sells Chinese mobile phones and accessories only.
"I have come to Kashgar in Xinjiang a lot of times since the store opened five years ago. It is nearer and much safer than our domestic cities like Islamabad and Lahore. We like to do business here," said Hussein.
Chinese mobile phones like the products of Huawei and Oppo are produced in Shenzhen, Guangdong province and sent to Kashgar. "They are cheap and have long standby time. Our store sold nearly 25,000 of them last year, " said Hussein.
From his observation, there are a lot of Pakistan businessmen going along the same route now. Because of the construction of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), this route enjoys great business potential.
As a key component of the Belt and Road Initiative, CPEC contains highways, railways, gas and oil pipelines and fiber channels from Kashgar in China to Gwadar port in Pakistan.
During his visit to Pakistan, Xi Jinping, the president of China emphasized that the bilateral cooperation will be centered on CPEC and Gwadar port, and energy, transportation infrastructure and industry cooperation are the most important parts.
The economic corridor also helps Chinese companies look west.
Sike Electronics, a company located in Chaozhou, Guangdong province, exports 30 percent of its products, mainly mobile cables and chargers, to India and Pakistan.
The company opened another branch called Zhanbo Electronics in the Shenzhen industrial park in Kashgar one year ago and has built four factories in the same region.
"Xinjiang has abundant labor supply and preferential policies. We are very confident about the expansion to Pakistan and nearby countries from here. The market demand is everywhere," said Chen Dongsheng, general manager of the Zhanbo Electronics.
Located in the center of Eurasia, Kashgar has long served as an important area for trade between Europe and Asia. It also has the most developed economy and the biggest foreign trade volume in the southern part of Xinjiang.
Kashgar bonded area, the first bonded area in the southern part of Xinjiang, was opened in April. It tries to attract companies for cross-border e-commerce and international logistics through preferential policies on trade control, bonded supervision and foreign exchange.
As one of the biggest logistics companies in Kashgar, Rundong Logistics transported over 40,000 tons of goods between China and Pakistan. Its major customers include China Road and Bridge Corporation and Xinjiang Beixin Road & Bridge Group.
"The volume of goods from Kashgar to Pakistan will see a huge increase with the construction of energy pipelines, telecommunication projects, power stations and other infrastructure there," said Yuan Youjun, general manager of Rundong Logistics.
Recently State Grid Corporation of China has signed a deal with Pakistan to invest in a power transmission and distribution project, the first to be opened to an overseas investor.
Constructed by the Chinese HVDC transmission technique, this project will not only ease the power shortage in the middle and northern part of Pakistan, but also supports Chinese companies to build power supply projects in the south.
Karokoram Highway, the only land access between Kashgar and Islamabad, was destroyed by a debris several years ago. Since that, Pakistan has built a bridge over the dammed lake and the highway is expected to be reopened in September.
"According to the volume in the first six months and the deal we have signed, remarkable growth can be expected this year after the highway is reopened, an around 33 percent increase of the total volume compared with the year before, " added Yuan.
Given the relatively backward economic development of Pakistan and other Middle East countries, experts on CPEC suggest that an innovative cooperation mode should be used for Xinjiang to open to the west and the south.
The trade volume between China and Pakistan is small while the trade surplus is huge. The unbalanced situation of import and export is becoming more serious, said Guo Lingzhen, deputy director of the Kashgar Prefecture Customs Control and Inspection Council.
"I hope the two countries can better develop China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, which will give us more business opportunities and lead us to a better life," said Hussein.
