At sunrise, the gantry crane at Khorgos railway port runs at a constant speed, and the China Europe train loaded with goods moves to the hinterland of Central Asia after the completion of reloading. The border station, which used to only handle the transit and transportation of goods, is now connected to warehouses and warehouses in the park, and the cross-border e-commerce sorting line operates day and night. Since 2026, a number of large-scale infrastructure projects have taken root, and cross-border e-commerce business has continued to grow. The local area is no longer just a transit station for goods rushing through. With its unique location, complete warehousing, and overlapping policy dividends, it has gradually built a complete industrial system integrating transportation, processing, and trade, and has taken the initiative in the development of Asia Europe economic and trade exchanges.

Location connects Europe and Asia

Khorgos is located at the core node of the Eurasian Continental Bridge, connecting the domestic coastal inland markets to the east, and connecting the five Central Asian countries and the European region to the west. Compared with sea transportation, land transportation is shortened by more than 9000 kilometers, significantly reducing logistics time costs. Relying on the China Kazakhstan International Border Cooperation Center and railway ports, a mature road rail intermodal transportation channel has been built in the local area. As of April of that year, the number of trains passing through the railway port exceeded 3000, and a return train could be replaced every two hours, highlighting the efficient customs clearance capability. The geographical pattern of external connections, internal connections, eastern connections, and western connections naturally makes this a core logistics node connecting the two major economies of China and Europe.

The park has complete warehousing facilities

The development of the logistics industry can not be separated from the supporting support of storage and processing. Khorgos has built an international logistics park and comprehensive bonded area for highway and railway combined transport with a total investment of 4.57 billion yuan, and equipped with the full chain facilities of the cold chain logistics bulk storage yard under the supervision of the customs. By combining the five exemptions and five reductions support policies, the region undertakes the import and warehousing business of grain and mineral resources from Central Asia, and innovatively creates a front store and back warehouse operation model. Imported barley can be transported directly to the processing workshop in the comprehensive bonded zone via a railway special line, and the instruction transfer to the clearance mode in the zone greatly shortens the stay period of goods, promoting border logistics to shift from simple transit to on-site processing and value-added.

Policy clustering industry

As a key area of the pilot free trade zone, Khorgos has the right to take the lead in cross-border e-commerce cross-border leasing cross-border financial settlement. In the first two months of that year, the regional cross-border e-commerce trade volume increased by 47.75% year-on-year, covering all types of customs declaration. The China Friendship Park project, with a total investment of 5 billion yuan, has started construction and will build a commercial and logistics complex of over one million square meters, deepening cross-border infrastructure cooperation between China and Kazakhstan. The comprehensive port trade and processing services have attracted more than 80 enterprises from Shenzhen and Jiangsu to settle in, consolidating the strategic pivot position of regional development in Central Asia and West Asia markets.Keywords: international logistics, China Europe freight trains, cross-border trade

Upgrading the complex international logistics hub from simple transit channels, Khorgos relies on its three core advantages to break through cross-border trade blockages, continuously release the development potential of border ports, and inject long-term momentum into the opening up of the western region.Editor/Li Xiaohua