Xinhua News: Digital Empowerment Driving Industrial Upgrading in Xinjiang — IBI on Supply Chain Digitalization Practices

▲ Source: Screenshot from the Xinhua News App

At the Xinjiang Digital Economy Headquarters of IBI (Beijing United Information Technology Co., Ltd.) in the Changzhou Street area, real-time data such as cross-border transaction volumes, live China–Europe freight train routes, and overseas warehouse temperature readings are continuously displayed on a massive digital screen.

Unveiled in January this year, the digital hub is building a comprehensive empowerment network across Xinjiang through its core strategy of “Platform + Technology + Data,” injecting new momentum into industrial upgrading and cross-border trade throughout the region.

Building a Digital Industrial Hub

As a core area of the Belt and Road Initiative, Xinjiang enjoys a unique geographical advantage of being connected to eight countries through five major border ports. However, its vast territory and fragmented industrial chains have long constrained industrial development. The establishment of IBI’s Xinjiang Digital Economy Headquarters directly addresses these challenges, with a clear positioning as a digitalized industrial chain hub radiating across Eurasia.

“This location concentrates triple advantages—geography, policy incentives, and industrial foundations—offering tremendous development potential,” said Li Qing, General Manager of IBI’s Xinjiang Digital Economy Headquarters and Vice President of Toodudu, in an interview with Xinhua News. He emphasized that the headquarters is not a simple extension of business operations, but rather a strategic integration of IBI’s development with the national digital economy strategy and Xinjiang’s role as a core Belt and Road region.

Leveraging local policies, the headquarters is facilitating the orderly transfer of high-quality industries from eastern and central China to Xinjiang, while integrating local特色 resources to build a closed-loop ecosystem combining industrial e-commerce, digital infrastructure, and cross-border operations. This approach is transforming Xinjiang from a traditional resource hinterland into a digital trade frontier.

To date, the headquarters has invested in or holds equity stakes in nearly 20 local enterprises, with business spanning bulk chemicals, specialty agriculture, cold-chain logistics, new energy, automotive equipment, and other sectors. The 10 cooperation agreements signed at the unveiling ceremony have already materialized into concrete projects such as integrated warehousing and logistics systems and cross-border circulation of agricultural products, forming a replicable Xinjiang model for deep integration of the digital and real economies.

Digital Supply Chains Energize Local Industries

In Xinjiang, challenges such as “difficulty in purchasing and selling” and high logistics costs have long troubled enterprises. By embedding digital tools precisely into every link of the industrial chain, IBI’s Xinjiang Digital Economy Headquarters has quickly delivered tangible results.

In agricultural exports, the “Tianshan” Cold-Chain Digital Freight Train, jointly launched with Xinjiang Jiuding Trade & Logistics Group, has achieved remarkable outcomes. The inaugural train in September 2024 transported 600 tons of Xinjiang grapes directly to Bangkok, Thailand. Through the model of “origin-based consolidation + cold-chain rail transport,” it fundamentally changed the previous fragmented shipment pattern of Xinjiang agricultural products and enabled a leap toward collective global export.

“Road transport used to be costly and prone to losses from repeated loading and unloading. Now, with digital scheduling, customs clearance time has been reduced by nearly 30%, and logistics costs have dropped by 20%,” Li Qing noted, citing data that directly reflect the value of digital empowerment.

Meanwhile, the integration of digital temperature-control systems with BeiDou satellite positioning ensures product quality throughout transportation. “We use an IoT + cloud platform architecture. Each container is equipped with temperature, humidity, and vibration sensors that collect data every five minutes and transmit it in real time via 5G networks. Alert thresholds are set—for example, grapes must be kept at 0–4°C—and any deviation triggers an immediate warning,” Li explained. Compared with traditional road transport, this system minimizes water loss and avoids frequent door openings by drivers, maintaining a stable temperature environment more efficiently.

Currently, the “Tianshan” cold-chain service covers a wide range of Xinjiang specialty products, including grapes, Hami melons, Korla pears, Aksu apples, Ruoqiang jujubes, and Yecheng walnuts, exporting them to more than 10 countries, such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Kazakhstan. This has significantly improved the channels for “Xinjiang products going nationwide” and “Xinjiang products going global.”

A Global Digital Network for Cross-Border Trade

In cross-border logistics, the headquarters integrates data across nine key nodes—customs, taxation, foreign exchange, government services, commerce, ports, aviation, warehousing, and finance—to implement the “1750” cross-border strategy, featuring one digital platform, seven overseas centers, and fifty overseas warehouses worldwide.

All cross-border transport vehicles and containers are equipped with BeiDou positioning systems, enabling real-time tracking from loading and customs declaration to overseas delivery. This effectively addresses challenges arising from Xinjiang’s vast geography, such as long-distance transport coordination and slow deliveries in remote areas.

In addition, IBI’s computing power hub registered in Hami, Xinjiang, has already been put into operation, providing robust support for intelligent decision-making in cross-border trade and industrial data processing.

Deepening Digital Integration for High-Quality Development

Looking ahead, IBI’s Xinjiang Digital Economy Headquarters has outlined a clearer development roadmap. On one hand, it will accelerate the construction of the AI Innovation Center (Xinjiang Park), expanding the application of “AI + Industry” across more sectors. On the other hand, it will deepen the “Digital & Intelligent Low-Carbon Silk Road” initiative, focusing on wind, solar, storage, and hydrogen integration to build zero-carbon energy systems and support the development of Xinjiang’s new energy storage industry.

At the industrial empowerment level, the headquarters will further extend its services to the grassroots, prioritizing support for small and medium-sized enterprises in Xinjiang to achieve digital transformation. This will allow more companies to benefit from digital supply chains without large upfront investments.

From a digital headquarters at the foot of the Tianshan Mountains to a trade network radiating across Eurasia, IBI is reshaping Xinjiang’s industrial landscape through digital technologies. Li Qing believes that the integration of the digital and real economies has no endpoint. IBI aims to root digital technologies deeply in Xinjiang’s soil—empowering local enterprises and injecting sustained momentum into regional development. Driven by both digital empowerment and the Belt and Road Initiative, this vast region is embracing new opportunities for industrial upgrading.