Modern merchants follow famous footsteps

A container truck from Kazakhstan is loaded at a newly opened fruit and vegetable export center in Horgos, Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Li Xiongxin / for China Daily

"The exhibition will invite other countries along the Silk Road to participate, and we hope the central government and the relevant ministries will approve the proposal soon," he said.

Zhang Shi'en, deputy head of the provincial commerce department, stressed that the province is already a well-established trade partner in the region. "Trade between Gansu and countries in central and western Asia reached $1.5 billion in 2013, an increase of almost $400 million from 2012," he said. Gansu has also established "sister" relationships with Iran's Qom province and Grodno province in Belarus.

Liu Hui, chairman of the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, said the area's large Muslim population means it shares cultural ties with several countries in central Asia and Arabia, which play crucial roles in the world's energy sector. The region is also seeking deeper international cooperation in the halal food industry, he added.

As the home of the westernmost section of the Eurasian Land Bridge at the Chinese end, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will exploit its location on the new Silk Road to become a major center for transport, finance and logistics.

In 2010, a special economic zone was established in Kashgar. It acts as a trade hub for the region and neighboring countries, including Pakistan and Kazakhstan. A twin-towered five-star hotel and duty-free shopping area is under construction in the zone.

"We cannot deny that the terrorist attacks in Kashgar have affected investor confidence to a certain degree, but when businesspeople learn about our preferential policies and understand the economic belt's potential, they will continue to invest," said Yao Wenkan, director of the zone's economic development and reform bureau.

In 2012, a free trade zone was established in the town of Horgos on the China-Kazakhstan border. It provides cross-border trade tariff exemptions for Chinese companies and duty-free shopping for visitors.

Xinjiang's two special zones are expected to play important roles within the proposed economic belt, said Mutalif Wubuli, the commissioner of Kashgar prefecture, a transcontinental hub on the ancient trade route. "The cities on the new Silk Road need to clearly position themselves and take advantage of their specialties instead of repeatedly proposing identical projects," he said.

Earlier this week, Zhang Chunxian, Party chief of Xinjiang and a member of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, said the central government's policies for the economic belt will be released soon.