China-Kyrgyzstan border port to open in 2024
The government of the Xinjiang region on Tuesday said the border crossing of Bedel Port on the China-Kyrgyzstan border will open this year. The chairman of the people’s government of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Erkin Tuniyaz, made the remarks while delivering the government’s work report at the annual session of the Xinjiang people’s congress. Bedel Port is located more than 70 kilometres from Uqturpan County, about 80 kilometres from Karakol in Kyrgyzstan, and 350 kilometres from Almaty in Kazakhstan. The chairman also said that in 2024, Xinjiang will boost efforts to keep its Khunjerab Port open throughout the year.  Khunjerab Port is a crucial gateway for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, handling a cumulative import and export freight volume of over 200,000 tonnes from 2016 to 2020.  The local "two sessions" are the annual meetings of provincial-level lawmakers and political advisors, during which plans for local economic and social development in the year ahead are discussed. Diplomats from around the world had been invited to sit in on the meetings. (Xinhua)