Urumqi Expo signals shift toward Eurasian tech and trade integration

The five-day exhibition, which concluded on June 29, hosted over 3,000 enterprises across 140,000 square meters. New pavilions from the UAE, South Korea, Russia, and Thailand underscored a shift toward deeper Eurasian commercial ties. Khalil Hashmi, Pakistan’s ambassador to China, identified the record attendance as a direct reflection of international confidence in Xinjiang’s potential as a terminal for global trade flows.

Beyond traditional commerce, the expo served as a showcase for emerging industrial capabilities. A dedicated zone for "new quality productive forces" introduced AI-driven agricultural robots and satellite systems for ecological monitoring. Meanwhile, cities like Karamay and Hami highlighted their roles in the national computing network, leveraging local green energy to power data centers. With 28 optical cables now linking the region to Central and West Asia, Xinjiang is positioning itself as a critical node for digital service exports and cross-border computing, moving well beyond its historical reliance on agricultural and raw material trade.