SCBC Team – Riyadh
The Saudi-Chinese Business Council received the “Foreign Investment Guide” in Xinjiang, western China, by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce Department in the province, on the sidelines of the Council’s participation, headed by businessman Professor Muhammad Alajlan, in a workshop specialized in discussing ways of trade and economic cooperation in Xinjiang, within the framework of Chinese steps for comprehensive economic development in this region, creating an investment climate inside it to attract Saudi and foreign investors, and achieving mutual benefit for the Chinese and foreign sides.
The “Foreign Investment in Xinjiang” guide aims to provide information to Saudi and foreign investors who have the desire to build their investments, or establish their projects within this developing and growing Chinese region, and to introduce them to investment opportunities, incentives, services provided to investors and their projects, in order to fulfill the aspirations of the Department of the Ministry of Commerce in the province, Which aims to attract foreign investments by providing distinguished services and simplifying procedures for investors.
The “Investment Guide” includes all the information, competitive advantages, policies, procedures, and controls of Xinjiang; As it constitutes a reference for investors informing them about the region’s characteristics of: “geographical and demographic features, financial and industrial policies, the cost of foreign investment, the administrative and economic structure, industrial development plans, natural and human resources, the most important economic areas in the cities of Urumqi, Korla, Horgos and Kashgar, and promising projects and industries. For foreign investment, textile industries, agricultural commodities, food, and technological products, information list on-air and seaports, roads and transportation, advanced infrastructure, and policies of border economic cooperation areas.
Geographical and social features
The “investment guide” included a detailed explanation of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region, and its capital, Urumqi, indicating that it is distinguished by its location in central Eurasia and the border region in northwestern China, which is an important axis of the ancient Silk Road, and covers a total area of 1.66 million square kilometers, which constitutes about one sixth of the total area China, bordered by Tibet, Shanghai and Gansu within China, and bordered by 8 countries: Mongolia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India from the northeast to the southwest; The land border line extends for a distance of 5,600 km; That is, one-fourth of the national total, as the longest border line in China, and its gateway to the Western European, in addition to having 18 first-class outlets and 12 second-class outlets, and paving 111 routes to transport passengers and goods with neighboring countries, and established international airlines with 20 countries. . In 2016, the total volume of import and export trade through Xinjiang ports amounted to about $17.96 billion, while the total volume of goods transported through these ports reached 41,120,000 tons.
In societal terms, the guide showed that the total population of Xinjiang was 23.9808 million, divided into 11.5947 million in urban and 12.3861 million in rural areas.
Production and investment
The “investment guide” indicated that the total value of Xinjiang’s production reached $147.2 billion in 2016, an increase of 3.13% over the year 2015 AD, while the per capita production value reached $6187.93, an increase of 0.98%, compared to 2015, and an increase of 37%. Compared to 2011.
The total investment in fixed assets of Xinjiang reached $152.82 billion in 2016, and the economic performance of the region improved significantly in terms of quality and level, the ability for independent innovation, the growth of emerging industries, the development of urban and rural structure, and the industrial added value which reached more than 17% average rate. Annual growth, which led to an acceleration of urbanization by 48%.
Abundant natural and human resources
The “investment guide” explained that Xinjiang is an important base for energy and natural resources in China, indicating that there are 142 kinds of minerals, representing 80.7% of the total Chinese mineral wealth, which is led by “coal” with 2.19 trillion tons, which constitutes 40% of the total state reserves. Besides large reserves of oil of 20.92 billion tons, and 11 trillion cubic meters of natural gas, with solar and wind energy.
Xinjiang also has other wealth of gold, iron, chromium and nickel, as well as mineral salts, and non-metallic building materials, in addition to being a primary destination for renewable energy projects to take advantage of its climate, which is characterized by abundant wind and solar radiation greatly.
On agricultural resources, the “investment guide” showed that Xinjiang enjoys rich resources of soil, water, and light and that it is the main production area for cotton, which accounts for a third of the total Chinese production and 8% of the world total, as well as grains, tomatoes, melons, grapes, pomegranates, and other crops; Where there are 4.16 million agricultural hectares, in addition to being one of the five main pastures in China; Because of its relatively stable water resources, 113.6 billion cubic meters of groundwater, 4.87 million hectares of arable land, 47.7 million hectares of available grassland, and 1.68 million hectares of forests.
As for “human resources,” Xinjiang has 41 educational institutions, 167 various “vocational” high schools, 1,419 regional science and technology programs, 120 technological research and development institutions, 53 major laboratories, and 20 engineering technology research centers. It also has 465 companies, 18 high-quality industrial parks, and 16 business incubators. The number of workers in the region reached 12.6311 million, and unemployment was recorded at 3.22%.
Xinjiang is rich in an advanced “digital infrastructure”, an electronic government system, extensive e-commerce, an information society, and an information security network.