Economic Watch: Western China becomes new hotspot for global businesses

A staff member introduces products via livestreaming at the booth of Iran during the 10th Silk Road International Exposition in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 21, 2026. (Xinhua/Zhang Sijie)

XI'AN, May 25 (Xinhua) -- At the Iranian section of the 10th Silk Road International Exposition, ornate carpets, delicate handicrafts and essential oils drew a steady stream of visitors. Nearby, an Iranian salesman was seen livestreaming products to Chinese shoppers via an e-commerce app.

For Iranian exhibitor Mahdi Barid Olyaei, the expo represented more than just a trade fair. Attending the event in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, for the second time, he brought an expanded product lineup.

"We've mainly cooperated with partners in eastern China in the past. Western China represents a new market for us. We hope to better understand local consumption habits and expand our presence by connecting directly with buyers and finding more wholesale partners through the expo," Olyaei said.

Olyaei's enthusiasm was echoed by many other international participants. The five-day expo, which concluded on Monday, attracted nearly 200 overseas enterprises from 64 countries and regions. Many shared the same view that the fair serves as a gateway to the booming market in western China.

Covering 72 percent of the country's land area and home to 27 percent of its population, western China is increasingly emerging as a new frontier for opening up. The momentum is supported by China-Europe freight train services and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, both of which are enhancing regional connectivity.

In the first quarter of this year, China-Europe freight trains to and from Xi'an completed 1,631 trips, up 7.4 percent year on year, accounting for nearly 30 percent of the national total. Meanwhile, shipping time has been shortened significantly, with the fastest trains reaching Germany in just 10 days and Central Asia in just five days.

Beyond facilitating trade, enhanced connectivity is enabling logistics providers, manufacturers and port operators to build more integrated industrial chains and share development opportunities.

According to Evgenii Nikitin, CEO of Russia's aluminum giant Rusal, the company has established a branch in Xi'an as the city now handles more than 40 percent of its aluminum rail shipments to China.

Foreign businesses can also find a niche in western China, leveraging the region's diverse resource advantages and sound industrial ecosystems. At the Sichuan exhibition area of the expo, a high-resolution optical satellite developed by Huantian Wisdom Technology Co., Ltd. stood out.

With a spatial resolution of 0.5 meters, the satellite functions like a camera in space, providing detailed geographic data for farmland monitoring, ecological protection and disaster prevention.

"Uzbekistan's officials are interested in leveraging our service framework to provide satellite data and technical solutions for their country," said Ji Muye, head of the company's international business division.

This growing appeal is further reinforced by policy support. China's revised catalog of encouraged industries for foreign investment, which took effect in February, underscores the country's commitment to attracting global investment in key areas such as advanced manufacturing and green development, with a particular focus on China's central, western and northeastern regions.

At the local level, governments are also tailoring foreign investment priorities to match their own industrial strengths while exploring opportunities in emerging sectors. Southwest China's Chongqing, for example, encourages research, development and manufacturing of small- and medium-sized agricultural machinery suited to mountainous terrain, while Guizhou has expanded support for hardware and software of computing infrastructure.

Pan Yuanyuan, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the differing demands of eastern and western China create diverse opportunities for foreign companies.

"Companies with different strengths can all find suitable market segments, and highly specialized niches often contain unexpected business opportunities," she said. ■

An exhibitor from Uzbekistan shows her products during the 10th Silk Road International Exposition in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, May 21, 2026.(Xinhua/Zhang Sijie)