Seven trucks carrying containers departed from the Kashi International Hub Port in northwestern China’s Xinjiang region on October 15, marking the launch of a trial international transport service connecting China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, according to Chinese state media reports.
The multimodal transport corridor represents a significant development in cross-border logistics between China and Central Asia, serving as the southern route of the central corridor linking China and Europe, Chinese officials stated.
The shipment included lamps, daily necessities, and mechanical equipment that had traveled by rail from Chengdu in Sichuan Province and Xi’an in Shaanxi Province to Kashi in Xinjiang before continuing the journey by road.
Two distinct routes are being tested in this trial operation. The first involves road transport to Kyrgyzstan, where goods transfer to rail before reaching Turkmenistan’s Port of Turkmenbashi via combined road-rail transport, ultimately crossing the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan. The second route enables Chinese vehicles to complete direct transport across all three Central Asian countries to Turkmenistan.
Cai Tuanjie, director for Safety and director general of the Transport Services Department at China’s Ministry of Transport, said the corridor would “open up a new cross-border logistics route between China and Central Asia, injecting new momentum into the connectivity between China and Central Asian as well as European countries.”
According to Liu Binbin, general manager of Xinkuaixian International Logistics (Xinjiang) Co., Ltd., the direct transport model improves efficiency by approximately 30 percent compared to traditional transloading methods while reducing warehousing costs.
Xinjiang officials indicated they plan to collaborate with customs, border inspection, and railway authorities to optimize port functions and enhance customs clearance efficiency to support the new corridor’s development.