Ningxia blazes trail for opening-up of western region

But there are still many uncertainties.

"There are many favorable policies for the pilot zone. But the core policies include the 'comprehensive tariff-free zone', and commodity and Islamic product exchanges," Wang said.

Yuan Jingping, director of Yinchuan Inland Port, told China Daily that among these policies, the "comprehensive tariff-free zone" is of utmost importance, as it gave incentives to Arab companies to set up processing factories in Ningxia.

"For Arab companies, especially small and medium-sized ones, tariff exemptions and timely tax rebates are extremely important for them to counter high logistics costs and improve their capital turnover rate," Yuan said.

An official from Ningxia's commerce department confirmed to China Daily the importance of the "comprehensive tariff-free zone".

"Such zones are the most favorable, highest level, and the best-functioning areas for opening-up in China," said the official who declined to be named.

"But the examination and approval process of comprehensive tariff-free zone is very strict," the official said.

To date, there are 22 "comprehensive tariff-free zones" in China, mostly in eastern coastal areas, such as Shanghai, Tianjin and Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The official expressed hope that the tariff-free zone policy will be implemented in Ningxia by September, but he refused to give a specific date.

"It's up to the central government, not us," the official said.

Despite policy uncertainties, analysts are still optimistic about the gradual opening-up of China's landlocked western region.

Wan Jifei, chairman of the China International Trade Promotion Committee, said the further opening-up of the landlocked western region is inevitable, following the country's opening-up of coastal regions and border areas.

Wang called the opening of China's inland regions the third phase of its opening-up.