Wen Jiang is an automobile and truck driver based in Horgos in the Ili Kazak autonomous prefecture of Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. Horgos neighbors Kazakhstan's Nur Zholy border crossing and serves as a key land port for trade with Central Asia and beyond.
On a typical day of work, Wen drives a domestically produced commercial vehicle through Horgos Port into Kazakhstan for export. After picking up the vehicle, he inspects it and checks whether clearance documents are complete before his employer makes an online appointment to line up. At the scheduled time, he proceeds through customs and border inspection, where intelligent systems and favorable policies have been introduced to boost efficiency.
He then drives a few kilometers to a bonded warehouse at Nur Zholy border crossing, where local partners take over the vehicles and handle transit procedures. The entire process usually takes around 10 hours, though on a good day it can be completed in just one or two. Afterwards, Wen returns home via cross-border public transportation through the town of Zharkent, Kazakhstan, where shops and guesthouses catering to Chinese visitors — and where Chinese is spoken and written in many places — are readily available.
Wen is among the first drivers to engage in this business. The part-time job allows him to earn about 7,000 yuan ($1,013) per month while taking care of his children. Since March 2023, he has made more than 600 trips and used up five passports. At peak times, he completes up to 20 round trips a month.
The efficient and cost-effective self-drive export model at Horgos Port has gained momentum after the mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Kazakhstan came into effect in November 2023. Since then, coordinated efforts by relevant authorities have streamlined the entire process, greatly facilitating commercial vehicle exports.
Horgos Port is now China's largest land port for vehicle exports. According to Urumqi Customs District, under which Horgos Customs operates, a record 450,000 vehicles were exported through Horgos Port in 2025, a year-on-year increase of 6.9 percent. Of these, 201,000 were new energy vehicles — a 66-fold surge from 2021.
Data from the Xinjiang exit-entry frontier inspection general station show that of the 178,000 commercial vehicles self-driven across Xinjiang's land ports last year, 80 percent passed through Horgos.
This approach has become an important complement to the conventional method of using car carrier trailers or exporting by rail. Du Zhaocheng, general manager of Horgos Taisheng International Freight Forwarding Co, noted that while car carrier trailers are limited in Horgos and often expensive with highly fluctuating prices, his company now uses both methods depending on demand.
Du's company initially specialized in self-drive exports of construction machinery. About three years ago, it began handling NEVs, including both new and secondhand cars. He said their business covers a range of major brands, with Hongqi, BYD and Geely's Zeekr being the most common. In recent years, the number of companies engaged in similar businesses in Horgos has grown from just a handful to several hundred.
According to the frontier inspection general station, self-drive vehicle exports created around 6,000 jobs in 2025, generating more than 31 million yuan in total income for drivers like Wen and helping companies save over 390 million yuan in costs.
As a reform initiative implemented since the establishment of the Horgos area of the China (Xinjiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone in November 2023, the self-drive export model results from a series of innovative measures.
The online queueing system, developed by the port management bureau of the administrative committee of the Horgos Economic Development Zone, notifies companies when it's their turn, provided they have registered their drivers online.
Dedicated channels have been established for these self-drive commercial vehicles. Since these vehicles have yet to receive license plates, they are typically grouped in sets of five unlicensed cars, guided by a single lead car with a license plate. This lead car is responsible for the group, ensuring they travel in a regulated and orderly manner to prevent potential accidents.
Du said the online appointment system has significantly reduced the workload and stress of drivers who previously had to wait in line offline, while also enhancing the order, efficiency and smoothness of exports.
When it comes to customs clearance, digital technology has significantly streamlined the process. Each vehicle is affixed with a QR code on its windshield that contains core information, including vehicle identification numbers and engine numbers.
"This QR code is like the vehicle's 'e-passport'," said Zhang Yang, an official with Horgos Customs. "In the past, each vehicle required a physical card, forcing exporters to bring customs declarations to the customs hall and line up to input information and produce the card. Now, the entire procedure can be completed via mobile phone."
As commercial vehicles pass through the port gate, smart cameras identify the QR codes. Those exempt from customs inspection are cleared automatically without stopping. With the port now operating 24/7, the clearance time per vehicle has dropped from 20 minutes to around two minutes, boosting overall efficiency by 80 percent.
According to Urumqi Customs District, the self-drive export model has been rolled out at other land ports in Xinjiang, such as Baktu Port in Tacheng prefecture. The innovative measure has been filed with the General Administration of Customs and will soon be promoted nationwide.
Meanwhile, Horgos Port has renovated the vehicle waiting area at the freight site to create direct inspection lanes, requiring only one stop within the restricted area to complete all border inspection procedures. This has cut the time needed from 15 minutes to just five, said Liu Peng, deputy director-general of the frontier inspection general station.
Notably, at seven land ports in Xinjiang — including Horgos — registered Chinese drivers are exempt from having their passports stamped upon verification — a move that extends the usability of a passport from one month to 40 months, said Wang Xianlei, another deputy director-general of the general station.
To meet the passport application needs of drivers involved in the export of commercial vehicles, Horgos' public security bureau has introduced a policy allowing drivers to apply for private passports using supporting documents provided by their employers.
Wu Xiuhua, head of the bureau's exit and entry administration division, said this initiative is designed to further optimize the business environment and facilitate cross-border travel for local residents, benefiting both enterprises and individuals. Wu said 129 passports have been issued under this policy since January 2025.
Since 2023, Wen has witnessed the gradual emergence and expansion of this trade format, as well as its explosive growth last year. With each trip, Wen not only transports vehicles, but also makes an effort to learn some Kazakh and Russian, while accumulating knowledge about Kazakh policies and markets. He expressed hope that one day he will start his own foreign trade business.