General

Holding a knitting rod in the left hand, knotting in the right hand, priming, tufting, stringing... Located in the Tibetan Blanket Workshop of Tibet Bangjin Mgduo Industry and Trade Co., Ltd. in Lhasa Economic Development Zone, the 44-year-old Ciji meticulously completed a series of procedures, and a special Tibetan blanket with three-dimensional graphics and text was spread out. "This Tibetan blanket is an overseas order, and it will be directly sent to the home of foreign customers after finishing weaving," Ciji said.

"Our factory has more than 100 workers. At present, all Tibetan blankets are made by hand, and the products are popular with customers in Europe, Germany, France and other countries." Cidan, the general manager of Tibet Bangjin Mgduo Industry and Trade Co., Ltd., said that in addition to Tibetan blankets, the factory also reprocesses and sells the wool purchased from high altitude areas such as Naqu and Ali to Nepal and other regions, with an annual total sales of nearly 40 million yuan.

Tibet Bangjin Mgduo Industry and Trade Co., Ltd.'s booming foreign trade "transcript" is only a microcosm of Tibet's deepening opening-up in recent years.

According to the foreign trade data of Lhasa, in 2022, the Tibet Autonomous Region carried out import and export trade with 95 countries and regions, an increase of 18 compared with the same period last year; The total import and export value of foreign trade reached 4.601 billion yuan, up 14.6% year on year. With the deepening and implementation of the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" and the implementation of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP), foreign trade data shows that in 2022, Tibet's import and export to countries along the "the Belt and Road" will reach 2.379 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%, and its import and export to RCEP member countries will reach 652 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 5.2 times.

According to foreign trade data, in the foreign trade of the autonomous region in 2022, private enterprises released huge potential, with import and export reaching 4.49 billion yuan, accounting for 97.6% of the total import and export value of Tibet's foreign trade in the same period. Qiongda, head of the first comprehensive business division of Lhasa Customs, said, "Tibet's import and export to Nepal amounted to 1.563 billion yuan, and Nepal has remained Tibet's largest trading partner."

According to foreign trade data, at the same time, Tibet actively promoted the construction of an important opening channel to South Asia in 2022, completed five port infrastructure projects, and realized two-way trade with Nigeria at the Jilong Port. The delivery mode at the Jilong and Zhangmu ports continued to be optimized, and the customs clearance capacity continued to improve.

As the Tibetan New Year approaches, the reporter saw at the Jilong Port in Shigatse City that there are many people passing by on the newly-built hot cable bridge, and that Chinese trucks loaded with Chinese department stores and Nepalese handicrafts are frequent, and the port business has returned to the pre-epidemic level.

"Since the resumption of two-way trade at the Jilong port on December 28 last year, import and export goods have passed through a lot," said Adan, deputy captain of the first team of the Jilong entry-exit border inspection station. Check the documents, open the carriage, and check the goods... At 2:00 a.m. on the 6th, at the duty point of the hot cable bridge with gusts of cold wind, Adan wrapped himself in a heavy coat and waved to release, completing the inspection of the last goods export truck of the day.

In addition, Tibet has made great efforts to build a new platform for opening up to the outside world and established a comprehensive bonded area in Lhasa covering bonded processing, bonded logistics and other enterprises, which has added new impetus to the development of Tibet's foreign trade. According to foreign trade data, the total import and export value of enterprises registered in Lhasa Comprehensive Bonded Zone in 2022 was 1.026 billion yuan, accounting for 22.3% of the total import and export value of the whole region.