The number of the China-Europe Railway Express passing through Xinjiang's two ports has exceeded 8,000 this year, departing from the Horgos Pass and the Alataw Pass. To be more specific, the number of the China-Europe Railway Express passing through the Alataw Pass reached 3,698, an increase of 10.8% compared to the previous year; while the trains going through the Horgos Pass reached 4,311, an increase of 15.8% compared to the previous year.

According to He Jian, Dean of the Institute of Statistics and Data Science and the Deputy Dean of the Institute of Silk Road Economy and Management of Xinjiang University of Finance & Economics, "This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative, and the China-Europe Railway Express is its landmark achievement." What's more, the most important significance of the China-Europe Railway Express is building a new land transportation channel connecting Europe and Asia. It stands out for its advantages of operating environmentally friendly in all-weather with high capacity as a significant innovation for the entire international transportation service system. He also pointed out that railway transportation's advantages are obvious, such as lower transportation costs compared to air transportation, shorter transportation time compared to sea transportation, and lower carbon emissions.

"The market along the China-Europe Railway Express is huge. Now the value of goods carried by the China-Europe Railway Express accounts for about 10% of the total China-Europe trade, and it still has much room to grow." He added that in the first half of this year, when global trade was under pressure, the total value of Xinjiang's foreign trade imports and exports reached 149.62 billion yuan, reaching a record high in the same period. "This figure is  close to the total value of Xinjiang's foreign trade imports and exports in 2021, and we can see that Xinjiang's potential in foreign trade development is huge."

"Trade between Xinjiang and the five countries of Central Asia is doing very well now." He Jian said that Central Asia is the core area of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Xinjiang is the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt. Xinjiang's development situation is getting better and better this year and even longer. In particular, the construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is accelerating, which shortens the freight transportation by about 900 kilometers and about a week compared with the current route of the China-Europe Railway Express.

"Xinjiang must use its geographical advantages, actively integrate into the country's overall layout of opening up to the west, and continue to strengthen people-to-people connections besides 'goods connection'," He Jian said that high-level opening up is the only way for Xinjiang's high-quality economic and social development. Based on economic and trade exchanges, Xinjiang has also built a bridge between China and the countries along the China-Europe Railway Express for cultural exchanges and people-to-people connections.

新疆财经大学丝路经济与管理研究院副院长何剑：新疆阔步迈向对外开放前沿

一列列满载货物的班列从霍尔果斯站、阿拉山口站驶出，今年新疆铁路双口岸通行中欧（中亚）班列数量已超过8000列。其中，阿拉山口铁路口岸进出境中欧（中亚）班列达3698列，同比增长10.8%；霍尔果斯铁路口岸进出境中欧（中亚）班列达4311列，同比增长15.8%。

“今年是共建‘一带一路’倡议提出10周年，中欧班列是共建‘一带一路’的标志性成果。”新疆财经大学统计与数据科学学院院长、丝路经济与管理研究院副院长何剑表示，中欧班列最重要的意义在于构建了一条联通欧亚的陆路运输新通道，这条通道有着全天候、大运量、绿色低碳的优势，对整个国际运输服务体系都是一个重大创新。何剑指出，铁路运输正在显示它的优势，像运输费用相对空运较低、运输时间相对海运较短、碳排放量比较低等。

“中欧班列沿线国家的消费市场很大，像中欧班列运载货值占中欧贸易总额的10%左右，它的发展空间还很大。”何剑举例称，在全球贸易承压的今年上半年，新疆外贸进出口总值达到1496.2亿元，进出口规模创历史同期新高，“这个数字接近2021年新疆全年外贸进出口总值，可以看出新疆今后的外贸发展潜力非常大”。

“新疆和中亚5国的贸易现在做得非常好。”何剑表示，中亚是上合组织的核心区，新疆是丝绸之路经济带的核心区，从今明两年甚至以后更长时间来看，新疆的发展形势越来越好，尤其是中吉乌铁路建设正加速推进，它比中欧班列目前的路线缩短了货物运输里程约900公里，运输时间也要缩短一星期左右。

“新疆要紧紧地把握住自己的区位优势，积极融入国家向西开放的总体布局，并持续加强人文交流，不光要实现‘物通’，还要实现‘民心相通’。”何剑表示，高水平的开放是新疆经济社会高质量发展的必由之路，在经贸交流的基础上，还架起了中国与中欧班列沿线国家人文交流、民心相通的桥梁。

文丨羊城晚报全媒体记者 许张超
翻译丨白心怡
责编丨古司祺
校对丨赵丹丹