People's Republic of China
CAREC in People’s Republic of China
A member of the CAREC Program since 1997, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) pushes for greater connectivity to drive growth and reduce poverty in Eurasia’s vast landlocked interior. CAREC’s evolution has accompanied the PRC’s own efforts to spread investment and growth in the region.
More and more cargo shipments from CAREC partners are reaching the PRC through the northern and western borders of its Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The government is channeling significant investments into these strategic regions, which are set to boost connectivity and economic benefits for Central Asia and beyond.
Xinjiang links seamlessly to Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Pakistan, and Tajikistan via CAREC Corridor 5, while Inner Mongolia connects to Mongolia and the Russian Federation through CAREC Corridor 4. These vital transit routes are potential economic corridors, now handling an ever-growing share of international trade.
Key Projects
As of 2023, CAREC has invested more than $2.36 billion in the PRC. The projects are improving transport and trade policies and infrastructure. These also promote connectivity between CAREC countries and global markets while harnessing the region’s natural and human resources.
Efforts to increase connectivity via road, rail, and air transport are providing jobs and opportunities for people in Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia. Improved highways are linking remote areas to schools, hospitals, and markets. In addition, easier access is stimulating commerce and creating bright prospects for the city of Urumqi, which is a gateway between Xinjiang and the PRC’s neighbors in Central Asia.
As reforms transform the country’s economic structure and assist the PRC’s transition to a consumption-driven, service-oriented, and environmentally sustainable economy, lives and livelihoods are set to improve even further. The current growth in trade along the CAREC transport corridors is helping spread this prosperity beyond the borders of the PRC to its Central Asian neighbors.