A firm with ties to China’s military has teamed up with an aquaculture systems and consultancy firm to roll out a swathe of new fish farms in the far west of China. The new project is part of a build-out production of seafood for the region and for neighboring central Asian states, including Kazakhstan.
Shandong Qingdao Zhong Ke Hai Science and Technology Ltd. is advising on a 5,000-square-meter aquaculture sheds project being built by the Building Corps 12th Division of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC) – also known as the Bing Tuan – the armed corps that controls large areas of the Xinjiang region in western China.
With an investment of CNY 80 million (USD 11.7 million, EUR 10.5 million), the new project will feature “intelligent, automated” production system to produce freshwater fish and shrimp for consumption in major regional cities like Urumqi – the city furthest from a sea of any city in the world - Commander of the Building Corps 12th Division, Wen Xin Ming told local media.
Produce will also be targeted at central Asia, said Wen, who said the project was in tune with the “One Belt, One Road” strategy designed to increase Chinese trade in the broader region.
Often styling itself in commercial deals as the China Xinjian Group, the XPCC has its roots in the 1950s, when it was created to impose Chinese control on the sprawling westerly region of Xinjiang, home to the Uighur people, a Turkic group.
