China-Kazakh Cross Border Market At Horgos Reopens

The China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center has reopened after being closed from January 29th. On March 15, the Chinese side of the cooperation center began to resume operations.

The center, which sits on 5.6 square kilometres of land, allows entry to people from China and Kazakhstan as well as other countries. To get in requires presentations of their visas or hukou certificate. However most of the customers attending the reopening are Chinese, not Kazakh traders, looking for inexpensive Kazakh sourced products for China’s domestic market.

“We wanted to reopen the center as early as possible. The most important thing is to minimize the losses of our vendors. The center has been considered as a tourism destination. It’s a good place for people to travel and buy commodities,” said Zhang Yongning, the Deputy Director of Horgos Economic Development Zone.

Getting in still requires some processing and patience. Customers lining up to enter the center must pass temperature checks and remain 1.5 meters apart, designated by yellow lines on the floor while being processed and allowed entry.

Businesses operating in the center reported a 30% drop in sales the past two months, while many have taken to streaming goods live and arranging delivery services.

China’s cases of Covid-19 are now starting to decline, while Commercial Shopping Centers such as Horgos are keen to start to move stock that has been under wraps for nearly two months.

Kazakhstan still has Almaty and Nur Sultan under lockdown, while the country reports some 33 cases. However the reopening of Horgos means that Kazakh goods and supply chains are being restored to service the China market, even though it may be some time before Kazakh traders themselves return.

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