How an Inland City Builds Outward-Oriented Economic Momentum: A Micro-Analysis of Xianyang's Foreign Trade Economy Expansion Against Headwinds

Core Highlights: According to statistics, from January to August 2025, Xianyang's total import and export value reached 79.56 billion yuan, ranking second in the province. As a typical inland city that is neither coastal nor border-adjacent, how has Xianyang managed to ride the winds and expand overseas, achieving sustained foreign trade growth?

This year, facing new global trade dynamics, the city has persisted in using foreign trade expansion as a driving force to stabilize the overall economic landscape. With dual engines of distinctive agricultural industries and high-end manufacturing, Xianyang has opened new foreign trade channels. Meanwhile, by deeply integrating into the Belt and Road Initiative framework, the city focuses on expanding new channels and markets, continuously stimulating new vitality, adding new momentum, and shaping new advantages to accelerate the construction of a new development pattern with domestic circulation as the main body and domestic and international dual circulation promoting each other.

At 4 AM, Xi'an Xianyang International Airport's cargo terminal is brightly lit. A batch of freshly inspected kiwi fruits is being rapidly loaded into aircraft compartments. In just over ten hours, these premium fruits from the Weibei Plateau will appear on supermarket shelves in the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and other regions, allowing foreign consumers to taste Xianyang's flavors.

Simultaneously, thousands of miles away in Rayong Prefecture, Thailand, Fast Gear Thailand Company's production line operates at full capacity, with workers busy testing intelligent brake products destined for American markets. Meanwhile, in Jingwei Fu Tea's digital workshop, batches of black tea rich with golden flowers are being packaged for shipment to the United States, European Union, and Belt and Road countries.

These vivid scenes represent Xianyang's strategic choice to promote economic stability through foreign trade expansion and the practical efforts of countless enterprises venturing into international markets.

From ancient Silk Road to modern trade corridors. Since 2025, Xianyang's foreign trade has withstood pressure and grown against trends, with local enterprises using apples, kiwi fruits, Fu tea, and automotive components as their spearheads to break trade barriers and explore new overseas market spaces.

**Foreign Trade Breakthrough: Policy First**

As one of the "three driving forces" of economic development, foreign trade faces complex international trade environments. In May 2025, the city issued the "Action Plan for Fighting the Hard Battle of Foreign Trade Expansion," clearly setting targets of approximately 7% growth in goods imports and exports and about 12% growth in service imports and exports for 2025.

On September 19, the Municipal Commerce Bureau confirmed that the city has incorporated foreign trade stabilization into the city's high-quality development "unified strategy," listed it as a core annual assessment indicator, and regularly convenes city-wide meetings on stabilizing foreign trade and growth. This approach dynamically assesses situations, collaboratively solves problems, ensures responsibility penetration and effective pressure transmission, laying a solid foundation for achieving expected targets.

The city has also constructed a "1+N+X" policy system, established a municipal-level foreign trade expansion task force, and implemented a penetrative scheduling mechanism of "list-based management and project-based advancement." Forty-two hardcore task items have been specifically formulated, with city-wide promotion meetings deployed to ensure key tasks are implemented.

**Fu Tea Fragrance: Cultural Export**

At the "2025 Beijing International Tea Industry Exhibition," Xianyang Fu tea truly shone. The Municipal Supply and Marketing Cooperative organized nine Fu tea enterprises, including Xianyang Jingwei Fu Tea Co., Ltd. and Shaanxi Xianxi Moringa Fu Tea Co., Ltd., to participate. Over one hundred distinctive Fu tea products were available for visiting merchants to taste, with the diverse Fu tea products winning favor from domestic and international merchants through their unique taste, "golden flower" fermentation process, and health benefits.

Two Fu tea products launched by Xianyang Fu tea enterprises, "Shaanxi Official Tea Master Collection" and "Heritage Fu Brick Tea," received "Five-Star Product" recognition. During the exhibition, Xianyang Fu tea achieved on-site transaction volumes of 78,000 yuan, with 25 intended orders involving nearly 2 million yuan.

This success demonstrates the city's focus on market development and building diverse growth engines. The city uses exhibitions to expand markets and secure orders, organizing enterprises to participate in key exhibitions such as the Canton Fair, Silk Road Expo, and "2025 Shaanxi Shines Global." It has promoted enterprises like Xianyang Textile Group, Northwest Medical, and Yanchangheng Rubber to participate in over 20 overseas exhibitions.

Overseas exhibitions have gradually become one of the best marketing channels for export enterprises to expand international markets. Through successive "going overseas" trips, enterprises visit old friends, sign orders, and attract projects, stabilizing existing customers while opening new markets.

"This year, we participated in the global professional tea industry exhibition - World Tea Expo 2025. At this tea expo forum, through introducing Xianyang Fu tea varieties, processes, traditions, and potential markets one by one, we made a refreshing impression and received high evaluation and attention," said Hu Xin, President of Xianyang Jingwei Fu Tea Co., Ltd.

Fu tea was once the protagonist of "tea for horses" trading on the ancient Silk Road. Then, it flowed fragrant along caravan routes; today, Jingwei Fu tea uses "digital intelligence" as its engine, creating new sparks through the collision of traditional crafts and modern technology.

The Jingwei Fu Tea Digital Intelligence Factory - the largest and most technologically advanced green Fu tea production system in the country - uses extensive digital methods to timely collect parameters from traditional processing procedures, then uses intelligent processing methods to simulate optimal processing approaches, standardizing and improving Fu tea product quality.

With controllable quality, Jingwei Fu tea products meet strict European and American food standards, becoming "Chinese tea business cards" on overseas shelves.

"In the past, the tea-horse ancient road took months; now our Fu tea travels from the Silk Road starting point to the other side of the ocean in just 15 hours. This is not only a civilizational leap but also an acceleration of cultural integration," Hu Xin said. In June this year, the Chinese Embassy in the United States invited the company for tea culture promotion - the third time this year.

This is not just a story of one enterprise going overseas, but reflects the transformation of Chinese tea culture from "mysterious tea on the Silk Road" to "healthy beverage shared by the world."

To strengthen international exchange and cooperation, the city actively organized delegations to Hong Kong, Macau, Uzbekistan, Russia, and 16 other countries and regions for economic and trade cooperation, promoting Xianyang's development achievements and distinctive industries. This has established economic and trade cooperation with over 120 countries and regions worldwide. The city's international "friend circle" has expanded to 13 cities in 8 countries, with the number of international sister cities ranking second in the province.

**Manufacturing Goes Global: Worldwide Layout**

As a representative of Shaanxi's manufacturing industry going overseas, Fast Gear Group has achieved significant results in global layout in recent years. In June this year, Fast Gear Thailand Company delivered its first batch of independently produced reducer products to American users. This indicates that Shaanxi state-owned enterprises have successfully opened new paths for international operations in their global strategic layout.

On September 18, at Shaanxi Fast Gear Intelligent Brake System Co., Ltd., in the spacious, bright, and clean mechanical processing workshop, automated production lines feature over 70 industrial robots working efficiently with high-end CNC machine tools, while AGV automated guided vehicles shuttle along designated workshop routes for transportation.

Currently, this enterprise has become China's largest liquid retarder research, development, production, and sales base, filling the domestic retarder gap "from nothing to something" and "from 0 to 1." It represents one of Xianyang's key enterprises in developing high-end manufacturing.

Currently, some of their products have been exported to Middle Eastern countries, with plans to continuously expand export business. In recent years, Fast Gear Thailand Company has built a marketing network radiating to ASEAN and India, continuously expanding its global business territory to accumulate successful experience for Fast Gear Group's deep integration into international industrial chains and global development, rapidly broadening new paths for Chinese manufacturing "going overseas."

Similarly, as a leading enterprise in the province's electronic information industry and the first complete terminal product manufacturer in Northwest China - TPV Display Technology (Xianyang) Co., Ltd. in the High-tech Zone - has simultaneously pressed the overseas "fast-forward button" since lighting up its first television set in 2018.

Now, 80% of their products are for export, mainly sold to European countries like Poland and Russia, and American countries like Mexico and Brazil. Benefiting from efficient, convenient, and low-cost logistics transportation channels, TPV Xianyang Company's China-Europe Railway Express export container volumes have increased year by year.

To help these key enterprises develop better in Xianyang, experience higher quality services, and confidently explore overseas markets, the city continues implementing comprehensive visits to foreign trade enterprises. Municipal government leaders personally practice the "frontline work method," conducting in-depth research at key US-trade enterprises like TPV Display Technology and Xianyang Textile Group, communicating face-to-face with enterprise leaders and coordinating relevant departments to solve problems on-site, clearing the "last mile" of policy implementation.

**E-commerce Empowerment: Smooth Channels**

In recent years, the city has highly valued cross-border e-commerce development. Wugong County E-commerce Industrial Park was recognized as a "2025 Provincial Cross-border E-commerce Industrial Park," taking solid steps from "Buy Northwest, Sell Global" to "Buy Global, Sell Global."

The Municipal Commerce Bureau supports Wugong in building a Central Asian agricultural specialty products distribution base. In export tax rebates, it coordinates with tax departments to precisely implement cross-border e-commerce export tax rebate policies and overseas warehouse "departure tax rebate" policies. In express logistics, it encourages good use of China-Europe Railway Express for e-commerce goods shipment and strives for major cross-border e-commerce or logistics enterprises to establish distribution warehouses in Xianyang, promoting the establishment of convenient and efficient logistics channels.

At Shaanxi Aiqi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in Changning Town, Wugong County, workers are boxing freshly picked kiwi fruits according to specifications. During the kiwi fruit ripening and picking season, on September 17, at Shaanxi Aiqi Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. in Changning Town, Wugong County, workers are boxing freshly picked kiwi fruits according to specifications.

Company Chairman Meng Hengmin introduced that they mainly grow organic kiwi fruits, with an estimated kiwi fruit production of 500,000 kilograms this year, valued at 13 million yuan, which is already completely pre-ordered.

"We have obtained the 'Registration Certificate of Production, Processing, and Storage Units for Specific Animals, Plants, and Other Products and Other Quarantine Items Exiting the Country from Xi'an Customs of the People's Republic of China,' meeting the registration requirements for exit fruit packaging factories and exit fresh fruit orchard registration, fully qualifying for kiwi fruit export conditions. At the recent Tenth China Fruit Industry Brand Conference Brand Ceremony, our 'Love Kiwi' brand achieved a brand value of 35.6039 million yuan in the 2025 Fruit Enterprise Independent Brand Value List, so I have full confidence in our kiwi fruit quality. Currently, our fruits have been exported to Canada, Russia, the Middle East, and other countries and regions."

On September 17, at Chunhua County Rongji Yunjin Modern Orchard Demonstration Park, apples including Qincui, Ruixue, and Ruixianghong hang heavy on branches. Looking at the fruitful orchard, park manager Li Xiaofeng told us that the park covers over 500 acres, producing 2,000 kilograms of apples per acre. In two more days, Qincui will be harvested on a large scale, and merchants are already eager.

"It's said that one out of every ten apples nationwide comes from Xianyang. Our apples are not only popular domestically but also exported to North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and other regions."

"According to statistics, in 2024, Xianyang Luyuan Agricultural Trade Co., Ltd. exported 6,700 tons of Qinguan and Fuji apples, mainly sold to Vietnam, Thailand, and other countries; Chunhua Lvzhou Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. exported 5,400 tons of Qinguan, sold to Southeast Asian countries; Shaanxi Yihuayu Modern Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. involved export volumes of about 6,000 tons, mainly Gala, Fuji, and Qinguan varieties, primarily exported to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam," Zhao Xiaodi, Director of Chunhua County Horticulture Station, told us.

In recent years, Chunhua apple export volumes have continuously increased. Chunhua County will use creating the "Chunhua Ruixue Apple" regional public brand as a breakthrough point to continuously optimize varieties, expand scale, and improve quality. It will also actively cooperate with agricultural consulting to conduct exhibition and promotion activities, authorize enterprises to join regional public brand teams, and support establishing direct sales windows and specialty stores inside and outside the province, making Chunhua apples go further and further.

Currently, the "Xianyang Malan Red" apple brand is valued at 10.045 billion yuan, ranking 4th on the 2025 China Fruit Regional Public Brand Value List and 3rd nationally in 2025 brand revenue. "Xianyang Malan Red" apples are not only popular domestically but also exported to North America, Western Europe, Middle East, Eastern Europe, South Asia, Southeast Asia, and other regions.

According to the Municipal Agriculture and Rural Affairs Bureau, currently Liquan County, Changwu County, Chunhua County, Qian County, Xunyi County, Yongshou County, and Binzhou City are selected as key apple counties and districts, while Wugong County is selected as a key kiwi fruit county. The city has 73 registered export fruit orchards (including 41 apple, 9 pear, 8 kiwi fruit, 5 grape, 3 peach, 2 persimmon, 2 plum, 1 cherry, 1 pomegranate, and 1 mulberry), and 25 registered export fruit packaging factories.

Strong support for provincial-level cross-border e-commerce industrial park construction innovates the "distinctive industry + cross-border e-commerce + overseas warehouse" linkage model. Wugong achieved the first batch of specialty fruits directly supplying Vietnam's Saigon market. Shaanxi Changfeng Power has built 3 new overseas warehouses in Myanmar, Nigeria, and South Africa, bringing the city's total overseas warehouses to 6.

Facing new global trade dynamics, Xianyang uses dual engines of distinctive agricultural industries and high-end manufacturing to open new foreign trade channels. Apples and kiwi fruit exports show bipolar trends, Fu tea goes overseas with cultural and technological wings, cross-border e-commerce constructs a new "buy global, sell global" pattern, and an inland city is reshaping foreign trade competitiveness with an innovative posture.

**Reporter's Notes**

During interviews, I deeply felt the unique path of foreign trade development in Xianyang, this inland city. Unlike coastal regions, Xianyang has chosen a differentiated path of "distinctive products + intelligent manufacturing" dual-engine drive.

What impressed me most was the perfect combination of tea fragrance wafting from Jingwei Fu tea workshop and modern production lines. The enterprise leader said: "We want the world to understand Chinese tea culture through Fu tea." This combination of cultural confidence and business wisdom is precisely the epitome of Xianyang's foreign trade breakthrough.

In Wugong County's cross-border e-commerce industrial park, young anchors promote Xianyang apples in multiple languages, with traditional agricultural products boarding the digital express.

Xianyang's foreign trade story tells us: in today's reconstruction of global trade patterns, by deeply exploring local characteristics, embracing digital transformation, and persisting in open cooperation, inland cities can also shine on the world stage. This "breakthrough" wisdom of staying grounded in reality while being brave in innovation may be precisely the key to high-quality development.