Products like jewelry, deep-sea fish oil, cranes and trucks were on display in the Xinjiang International Convention and Exhibition Center. Upon entering the center, Sany Heavy Industry easily nabbed the attention of visitors with its impressive array of machinery. Opening up shop in Urumqi in 2011, Sany laid a focus on northwest China and the Central Asian markets. This year, it rented a 2,600-square-meter outdoor exhibition zone, with 15 iron giants on display.

China's solar power giant Yingli Green Energy is another company looking west of Xinjiang for growth markets. Haunted by the photovoltaic dispute with the EU, Yingli Green Energy still shows great enthusiasm in expanding overseas. "While exports to EU countries keep falling, Yingli has now turned its attention to countries that have yet to join the euro zone, such as Ukraine and the Republic of Belarus," said Liu Ying, Accounting Manager of Yingli's Overseas Sales Department, at the expo.

In the exhibition hall for overseas products, Qamar Zia, a white-haired Pakistani man, was busy handing out instructions to his employees. As the owner of a hand-made carpet company, it was his fourth trip to China and first to Urumqi, where he believed the market potential is huge.

"All of my carpets are hand-made from wool. In Urumqi, temperature can be as low as minus 20 to 30 degrees Celsius in winter. Therefore, residents here may be willing to keep warm by laying a carpet on the floor," said Qamar. He expects purchasers who showed interest in his goods to contact him after the expo.

Food from Xinjiang, home to an environment with favorable agricultural conditions, was also touted at the expo. Xinjiang Aroma Manor Wine Co. Ltd. was one of the enterprises proudly displaying its offerings. "In the past, our company just grew grapes. Since 2011, we have begun to produce wine. Thanks to our independent planting base in south Xinjiang, Chateau Aroma has gain recognition as being pollution-free and organic," said Yang Weibin, its sales manager. "As a high-end brand in this field, most of our products are shipped to Hong Kong. At the same time, Central Asia has also been included in our long-term plans as a potential market."

Culture too

Young girls in glittering Xinjiang-made cheongsams undulated on a stage as handicraftsmen lined its sides with their works. A miniature Qifang Street—a well-known hub for artists in Urumqi that was once home to a deserted dormitory building—was created. On display were colorful dough figurines, exquisite pottery and even mulberry paintings—the so-called "living fossil of the paper industry."