Li Donghui, vice-chairman of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, has forecast that local border trade in Xinjiang in 1993 will account for 50 percent of the region's total foreign business.

From January to November 1992, the trade came to $220 million, a 4.59-fold increase over the same period of 1991.

Before 1991, only five companies in the region were authorized to engage in barter deals, but the number has now climbed to 200. In the relatively closed Tacheng Area over 70 such firms have been established as trusts, agencies, subsidiaries and joint ventures. While local border trade totaled only 500,000 yuan in 1991, in 1992 it reached 50 million yuan, a 100-fold increase.

Its rise has expanded markets. In 1991, there were 40-plus companies from only a few nations near the autonomous region. Now the figure has jumped to 260 from a dozen surrounding countries. There are increasing quantities of commodities for barter trade. On offer are 83 export and 76 import commodities.

Traveling buyers and exchange trade between border residents are notable features, with nine markets serving reciprocal trade. From January to October last year, Xinjiang received 116,000 tourist purchasers from the adjoining Commonwealth of Independent States, a 5.3-fold increase over the same period of the previous year. These visitors snapped up 441 million yuan worth of goods.