Free trade zone on China-Kazakhstan border sees booming business

Located on the China-Kazakhstan border, the Horgos International Border Cooperation Center has witnessed booming business as it continues to attract buyers, live-streamers and tourists from both sides since it was launched in 2012.

It is also the first cross-border economic cooperation zone that China has established with other countries.

Customers can buy duty-free products at a wholesale market in the center, but they cannot splurge, as the discounts depend on the weight of the goods. For each person, the duty-free allowance is 25 kilograms per month.

Many shops, therefore, have prepared vacuum-packing machines to help customers weigh the goods they plan to buy.

Shuttle bus services are provided daily to transport buyers from Kazakhstan to purchase a wide variety of high-quality goods.

"This time we are here to buy bedding sets and clothes. The quality of the products here is quite good, and we bought over 300,000 Kazakh tenge (around 617.53 U.S. dollars) worth of goods," said a buyer from Kazakhstan.

A number of shops at the wholesale market has hired foreign live-streamers to help sell products.

"We earn an average of 15,000 Kazakh tenge (around 30.88 U.S. dollars) per day, so many people from Kazakhstan would like to work here," said a live-streamer from Kazakhstan.

Straddling the China-Kazakhstan border, the center has become a popular tourist destination. In the first half of this year, it recorded over 2.72 million visits, up 113 percent from the same period last year.

The China-Kazakhstan mutual visa exemption agreement taking effect last year has further consolidated this tourism boom, as self-driving tours and group tours bring more tourists in and out of the border. Each domestic tourist can enjoy a duty-free allowance of 8,000 yuan (1,124.69 U.S. dollars) per day at the duty-free shops in the center.

"Of all the tourists visiting the shop, domestic tourists account for 80 to 90 percent. The shop's sales reach an average of 1.5 million yuan (around 210,762.9 U.S. dollars) per month from May till now. The goods are directly imported from Europe or transported by China-Europe freight trains," said Zhang Hongying, manager of a duty free shop in the center.

Taking advantage of its unique geographical location and favorable policies, the center has become a testing ground for connectivity between Eurasian countries, a popular tourist destination, and a must-visit shopping spot, said an official from the center.

From January to August this year, the total trade value of goods entering the center from China reached 3.2 billion yuan (about 449.79 million U.S. dollars).

Free trade zone on China-Kazakhstan border sees booming business

College students in the United States have voiced opposition against the adoption of new rules around demonstrations on campus following the eruption of pro-Palestinian protests across the country this year.

A wave of pro-Palestinian student protests spread across U.S. college campuses earlier this year. In many cases, encampments were erected, with protesters demanding school administrations divest from Israel.

All of them were eventually removed, in many cases, by use of force.

Following the student protests, some institutions placed limits on the time or location that such protests are permitted, while others require preapproval for any demonstration.

Although administrators say the new rules aim to boost security and safeguard uninterrupted education for their students, critics say students' right to free speech may be suppressed.

"I do think that there is a responsibility of institutions not to militarize their response to their students. But all in all, there is a line in which one may cross where a protest can venture into being unlawful," said Timothy Welbeck, director of the Center for Anti-Racism from Temple University.

Last month, many students returning to their campuses for the new academic year faced a new set of rules, with several colleges banning tents and encampments.

On the anniversary of the new-round of the Palestine-Israel conflict, some students claimed the response to protesters was selective.

"One group got shut down outside, like we weren't allowed on campus, but on the same day another vigil was allowed to be held right next to Thomas building. So, I think that response really showed a lot," said Rhea Cook, a student from University of Southern California.

In one of the nation's largest public university systems, the University of California, blocking facilities, spaces, building entrances, paths and roadways are also forbidden.

"We shouldn't be deciding what kind of speech is available or allowed for students, especially in a time where you're doing so much learning and growing. Students need to be able to fully express themselves and be who they are without fear of disproportionate punishment on our campuses," said Kaira Brown, a college student.

Critics of the new regulations around protests also include some Jewish faculty members and students, who say they fear that freedom of speech may be threatened, even at some of the world's most prestigious institutions.

American students voice opposition to new rules to limit demonstrations